Sixty Minutes
by rantandrumour
Summary: She's missing. They've got 60 minutes. An hour that could change everything. Will she be rescued? It's 1982 and Gene and the gang have seven steps to solving it or risk destroying everything.
1. Race

**So, funny story. At about this time last week, I decided to give up writing. And then... this idea popped into my head. So after much encouragement from people on twitter and tumblr, and lots of conversations with 5A7AH that ended up discussing methods of torture, and her begging me to torture Caroline Price, chapter one has emerged. **

**Chapter 1: Race**

"_My name is Jennifer Waters. I am twenty-seven years old. If you do not find me in the next sixty minutes, he will kill me._"

No. Not again, this couldn't be happening again. In the past month, two men had rung him in the exact same way.

"What's going on love? Where are you?"

A new voice came on the phone, deep and threatening. "You don't really think I'd give away my position, do you Hunt? You have sixty minutes to find her. Here's your clue. She's on the street that has no friends. White three up, one down. Your sixty minutes starts now." The line clicked off, and as much Gene wanted to bury his face in his hands, he couldn't. He only had sixty minutes to find the woman with a clue that was no help at all.

CID silenced as Gene stepped outside his office a look of grim determination on his face.

"No," his DI whispered.

Gene merely nodded. "Jennifer Waters, twenty-seven. Same terms as last time. Sixty minutes to save her."

"What was the clue?" Alex asked, picking up a pen and paper.

"She's on the street with no friends," Gene said, thinking. "White three up, one down."

"What the hell's that supposed to mean?" Ray exclaimed. "Bloody hell Guv, how are we supposed to find people with all that to go on and only 60 minutes to find them?"

Gene looked at the clock. They had already lost a minute of the precious hour. Bolly was poring over a map, as was most of CID, looking for 'a street with no friends.'

Gene joined in, knowing that this time they needed a different result. The previous two had died long before they had found them. This case was the most feared, but the only one that anyone could think about.

It had all started two weeks earlier. He had arrived to work that day with a feeling of dread in his stomach. Gene Hunt knew that this was not a good sign. Very rarely in his career did he go to work with apprehension curling at his aura, and every time he did, something bad happened. The last time he had had this feeling, Sam had been killed in the jewellery blag.

As he entered into his office, everything had seemed normal. CID was quiet, it being too early for most to arrive. It was certainly too early for Bolly, unless she had spent the night there, like she sometimes did. Gene wondered about how lonely she truly was. She always put on the tough exterior, but to see her here in the mornings, her head on her desk, unconscious on one file or another, made him think she wasn't all she appeared to be.

On the days she hadn't spent the night in CID, she was usually fifteen minutes late. Gene didn't know why he put up with it. Certainly, if it had been one of the lads, he would have shouted himself blue after the second late arrival in a row.

But there was something about Bolly that prevented him from disciplining her, no matter what she had done.

Slowly, CID had filtered in, until Bolly arrived, throwing her jacket over her chair looking too much like she was recovering from a hangover.

So everything was normal then.

That was when the phone had rung.

Gene had picked up his phone, and a male had left a message much like Jennifer had only minutes ago.

"_My name is Trevor Beatty. I am thirty-three years old. I am being held against my will, and he says if you do not find me within an hour, I will die."_

At first, Gene had wanted to take it as a joke. He had hoped it was. But then the second man, the kidnapper had come on the phone and given him the clue to try and find Trevor. Try as they might, the clue was too vague to be able to find Trevor in time. They had stumbled in three hours after the limit, and all that remained was a body, covered in massive amounts of blood.

Gene had been a copper for years, but it had been a sight that disturbed even him. A fingernail and a toenail had been missing from each hand and foot. One molar had been pulled out, and was lying on the floor next to the body. Cigarette burns were on various parts of the body. But the worst sight of all was what was on the man's chest. Words, smeared by blood, but standing out by their jagged edges, had been carved into his chest. The two small words had been easy to read, and filled Gene with immense guilt and rage.

'_TOO LATE'_

The cause of death had been clear. In the middle of the second O, there was a stab wound, which had gone all the way through the body.

Then, a week later, the same thing happened. His name was Rory Jenkins and he was twenty-nine years old. They had done better that time, but they had still missed the mark by an hour.

What Gene didn't understand was why the killer had suddenly switched to a female victim. He could almost hear the cogs whirring in Alex's head as she tried to work it all out.

Gene looked up at the clock. They had forty five minutes left. He exchanged a look with Alex. The bastard would be phoning soon.

As if on cue, Gene's phone started ringing. Gene picked up the receiver. "Hunt," he said shortly, knowing what to expect.

"My name's Jennifer Waters. Please, help me." Her voice was laced with pain. Gene knew what was slowly happening to her, which made it all the worse. Pathology had determined that the carving to the chest had occurred last. She was on the first ten or fifteen of what would become 47 burns, and she had probably lost a nail by now.

The man's voice came on the phone. "Forty-five minutes, Hunt," he said as she cried out.

The phone clicked off again. Gene slammed the phone down, kicking his rubbish bin for good measure. CID didn't even look up, continuing to pore over the maps of London they had all been given.

"Guv!" Alex cried twenty minutes later. "This one! A street with no friends. Peerless?"

"I think you may be onto something Bolly," Gene said, feeling a slight relief before adrenaline coursed through his veins once more. "Let's fire up the Quattro."

Alex, Ray and Chris followed him out of the office, Alex holding onto the paper on which she had written the clue. He watched as her eyes scanned it over and over again, the little wrinkle in her forehead getting deeper as she thought.

"White, three up, one down," she mumbled. "What the hell could that mean?"

There was a tense silence in the Quattro as they approached Peerless Street. Gene looked down at his watch. Ten minutes. Plenty of time. They had plenty of time.

His radio crackled. "Please!" he heard Jennifer's voice cry. "No more!" The words tailed off into a moan of pain.

"Ten minutes," the man said.

Ray and Chris cringed at the sound, but Alex had hardly noticed it. She was too caught up in the clue, repeatedly looking down at the paper and then up at the houses before she suddenly broke into a wide grin.

"White, three up, one down. White house. Three from the corner, one level down."

Alex stared at the houses on the street and her triumphant smile faded. Every single house was white. They had four options and only seven minutes.

"Ray, Chris, you two take the houses down there. Bolly and I will take these two. Stay paired up. I don't want him to get his hands on one of you lot either."

Chris and Ray nodded, and Alex and Gene got out of the car to let them out. The two men started running down the street. Gene looked at Alex and nodded before they barged into the first house.

As the door banged down, Gene's radio crackled to life again. "Five minutes, Hunt."

He and Alex looked desperately for stairs. Alex moved from the foyer into the next room and he heard her exclaim as she no doubt found the stairs. He was in the room in a flash, nearly knocking them both down as they barrelled down the steps. They reached the lower level, looked around for less than three seconds and started running back up the stairs again. There was no one there.

As they ran across the street to the house opposite, Gene's radio crackled once more. "Two minutes."

They raced across the street, running at breakneck speed now. They had to save her. They were too close to lose the girl now.

Gene rammed the door with his shoulder, but it did not give as easily as the last door did. He and Alex looked at each other. Ding dong.

Gene continued to beat down the door, throwing all his weight against it. Alex started helping when it wouldn't budge. Finally after what seemed like forever, they got the door open.

As the door crashed into the wall, Gene's radio crackled to life. "Zero." A scream sounded from below them, cutting off quickly. Gene and Alex raced downstairs, but there was no one there except a woman, tied up to a chair and barely breathing. Alex rushed over to her.

"Jennifer? Jennifer, can you hear me?"

There was no reply. Alex turned to Gene. "Well are you gonna just stand there? Call a bloody ambulance!" she yelled, starting to untie the woman.

Gene quietly ordered an ambulance, but he knew it was too late. Guilt and sadness washed over him in waves. If the door had opened ten second sooner, she would have been alive and the man arrested.

He sat on the bottom of the stairs, wondering how he was going to tell this woman's family that they had only missed saving her life and catching her captor by seconds.

~(*)~

"Forty seven burn marks."

Alex looked at Gene, who was brooding miserably over a pint. Plod had searched every house on the street, but the man had disappeared. There was nothing they could do at the moment.

"One mark a minute, for an hour," Gene continued, as if he didn't notice Alex was even there. "Seven letters, five other injuries, and the fatal wound."

For the first time she could remember, Alex was speechless. She didn't know how to console him, as she was feeling the exact same way. Indeed, the mood in Luigi's was extremely morose. The Italian was wandering around with an expression of sorrowful comprehension. He had learned that when the men didn't take the piss out of him, a case had gone badly wrong. Oftentimes this led to more drinks over fewer hours, and most of CID stumbling out at an early time of night.

"Thirty seconds," Gene said dolefully, looking up at Alex. "Thirty fucking seconds, and we could have caught the bastard behind this. Now, we get to sit and wait for forensics to do all the work. Or until he takes someone else."

"He won't take anyone else, Gene. We'll catch him before that," Alex promised him.

Gene merely looked at her.

"Will we Bolls?"

She couldn't answer. She didn't have an answer. There was a part of her which believed the false confidence, but the majority knew that it was a lie. Instead, she looked down at her wine, which had magically refilled from the last time she had taken a sip.

"Why do you think he switched to girls?" Gene asked suddenly.

"I don't know. It may just be a pattern, to even things out. Like in schools, how they sometimes make the children sit boy, girl, boy, girl. Only with him, its two men and then possibly two women. And then after the second woman, he'll start over with men again."

"Makes no sense to me. Why would you want to do that to someone anyway?" he asked, once more staring morosely at his beer.

Alex stared at him for a moment, fighting the urge to wrap her arms around him as a comfort. For, once again, Gene Hunt had rendered her speechless.

They had to find the man. Soon. For everyone's sake.

~(*)~

"_Please, no. Not again! Please!"_

"_Describe it for me. What does it feel like?"_

"_It hurts!"_

"_But what does the hurt feel like?"_

He stopped the Dictaphone, moving over to his TV to watch the tape of that afternoon. It had been very close today. Hunt had nearly gotten him. It was a good thing he had decided to pack up his video recorder before the ten minute mark. Hunt and his team were on the street at that time. He would have never gotten away if he had had to lug that away. Instead, Jennifer Water's last moments were recorded on his Dictaphone.

He made a note in his notebook and closed it, smiling.

One more woman. He only needed one more woman, and then his research would be complete. One more week, and his experiment would be finished.

**to be continued.**

**(if my muse does)  
**


	2. Comfort

**Happy New Year! Thanks to all of you that reviewed and favourited and added to story alerts! This chapter is pretty much just *gasp* fluff, and was never ever supposed to be written. However, my brain had other ideas apparently...**

**Chapter 2: Comfort**

They stared at the board, all silently wishing for a clue to appear on the board. None did, and they sat at the exact same place they had sat since three days previously. Just one more face on the board. That was the only difference between now and a week ago. CID knew that if they did not find this man soon, another face might very well appear.

Alex looked up from the files she was studying, rotating her head to work out the soreness that had built up. As her head turned, she caught Gene's eyes. His expression matched the mood of CID over the past several days. The sparkle in the bluish silver had faded, replaced by a look of darkness that could not be quenched by any sort of humour. Indeed, CID had not been in a joking mood lately. This case was weighing on all of their shoulders, and most of all Gene's. Not catching this man tarnished his reputation, and in doing so, his pride. It had become such now, that it was all Alex could do not to put her arm around him, to try and comfort him in some way. But no, Gene wouldn't want that. His pride had already been damaged. Her trying to console him would just make it worse. And she was certain that he did not feel the same way about her as she did about him. No, it was best just to leave it alone. Gene's morale would boost as soon as the case was over. Until then, he was going to brood.

Suddenly the door burst open. An angry man stormed through it, making a beeline for Gene's office. Alex stood quickly, looking at Gene and following the man in when Gene nodded. She shut the door quietly as the man started to rant.

"I am appalled at the results of this case, DCI Hunt. It's been three days since Jennifer was... And you have gotten no closer to catching the killer."

Alex closed her eyes and counted to ten. Jennifer's husband had been a constant annoyance, always coming in to yell at them. As the man continued, Alex watched Gene carefully, expecting him to explode at any moment.

Finally, Ryan Waters stopped, panting for breath. Gene looked levelly at the man. "Mr. Waters," he said calmly, hiding his inner rage. "As I have explained to you every day, we are trying our hardest to find the man behind this. However, we have no leads. Every officer in our department is currently working on this. I assure you, we will find the man behind this."

The man just glared at Gene, sparks almost flying from his eyes. "You don't give a shit about her. Or the killer. I hope he takes one of yours next."

With that, Waters stepped out of Gene's office, walking briskly out of CID. Only then did Gene viciously kick his rubbish bin. "That stupid bastard!" he yelled, once more kicking the bin. This time it flew in the air, smashing against the window. "How dare he say that we don't care?" Gene seethed. "And that he hoped it happened to one of us. That utter bastard."

He became aware of a hand on his shoulder. Gene stopped dead. Bolly's hand. It was resting on his shoulder. He had secretly hoped for this moment for a long time. For so long she was untouchable. But by breaking the barrier, she had just put herself within his reach. Maybe he would never be able to shag her, but he could touch her.

Gene turned, looking into her eyes which expressed everything. He knew in that moment that they needed no words to understand what the other was feeling. Slowly, not wanting to break the moment, Gene reached over and pulled the curtains to his office closed. Alex stood next to his desk, watching him quietly. When the blinds were shut, Gene turned, staring straight into her eyes. She almost looked...vulnerable. Her eyes were open wide, the hazel orbs shining brightly.

He took one hesitant step toward her, but stopped awkwardly. He heard her breathing pick up slightly. She reached out her arm once more, letting it rest on his heart. Gene gave a small smile, remembering the first day she had arrived, when he had responded by placing his hand over her breast.

Her eyes were uncertain, questioning every move. Gene moved a step closer to her, making her arm bend. Her other hand reached out for his chest, and he reached out around her shoulders, wrapping her in an embrace. Her head rested on his chest, and they stood there for a moment, taking comfort from each other's presence. He rested his chin on her forehead, building up courage. Suddenly, almost too fast for his liking, he moved his chin down, so his lips brushed her forehead, like a father would to a child.

Alex opened her eyes as she felt her lips press on her forehead. It just felt...right. Slowly, not wanting to startle him, she pulled her head off of his chest. His arms were still wrapped tightly around her, her hands pressed to his chest. His heart was racing.

Alex looked into Gene's eyes. She knew what she saw in his eyes would be reflected in hers. There was an undertone of fear and uncertainty, but at the forefront of his eyes, she saw longing. She knew that feeling well. It was the same thing she felt every time she looked at him.

He broke eye contact as his eyes drifted down to her lips, his face drawing ever closer to hers. She looked down at his, marvelling at the perfection of them. They were stunning, even when not pushed up into his characteristic pout.

His eyes flickered back up to hers, and questioned once more. She continued to look into the silver blue, darkened by desire, moving her mouth closer to his in response. Her eyes moved back down to his lips as they drew closer, suddenly not seeing anything as her eyes closed and instinct took over.

His first thought as their lips met was of how natural it seemed. Their kiss was slow and passionate, expressing everything they could not put into words. One of her hands moved from his chest to the back of his neck, pulling his head down slightly so that he could meet her mouth more easily. Any trace of nervousness was gone as it continued, neither wanting to be the one to break the connection.

Finally, they broke apart together. Gene's hands had moved down to her waist, and now both of her arms were around his neck. Still no words were exchanged as they stared at each other. They were both surprised at the sudden connection, but neither regretted it. Her hand moved to his cheek, and she moved her face to the opposite one, kissing his temple before whispering in his ear.

"We will catch him Gene. He will not kill another."

Gene could not say anything. He just pulled her closer, taking comfort in the warmth he had not felt from another for so long. She did not seem to mind, resting her head against his chest again. They stood like this for a while, neither knew how long, until someone knocked at the door.

Gene and Alex broke apart, Alex picking up a pencil, and Gene sitting behind his desk before yelling 'Enter'.

When Ray walked in, it looked as though all they had been doing was poring over a map of London.

Gene looked up. "What do you need, Raymondo?" His voice carried none of the malice that it had in the past several days and Ray looked disconcerted.

"Waters has been working up the families of Beatty and Jenkins. They're both here demanding to speak to you."

Gene sighed, pressing his fingers against the bridge of his nose. "Send 'em in then."

Ray nodded, closing the door behind him. Alex took the opportunity to rest her hand on his shoulder.

"They're more reasonable than Waters," she said softly. "They'll listen."

Gene nodded as her hand disappeared from his shoulder. The door swung open, and three women and a man entered his room.

"What's wrong?" Gene questioned.

"Mr. Hunt, we just want to make sure everything is being done to catch this man," said one of the women, a grey haired lady whom Alex remembered as being Beatty's mother. "Ryan Waters..."

Gene held up his hand.

"Mrs. Beatty," he said gently. "I can assure that everything _is _being done. We have our entire office working on this. Before you came in, my DI and I were discussing the suspect," he lied. "She's a psychological profiler. She's studying the way he commits the crimes to try and give us an idea of what we are searching for."

The four looked at Alex with a new respect. Alex simply nodded, smiling at the family. Mrs. Beatty turned around and looked at the other three. "I do think Mr. Waters is overreacting. I trust Mr. Hunt and his team here. So why don't we let them alone so they can work on the case?"

The other three nodded.

Mrs. Beatty looked at Gene and Alex and nodded. "Thank you very much for your time, Inspector, Chief Inspector."

She left his office, followed by the other three. Gene breathed out a sigh of relief. "That was easier than expected."

"Mrs. Beatty's a sweet old lady," Alex replied. She doesn't want to cause any more problems than she has to."

Gene nodded.

"Dunno about you, Bolly, but I'm ready for a drink."

~(*)~

Alex lay in bed long after Gene had left her flat. He had no suits at her flat still, and had to get up every morning an hour before her to go to his flat and grab a suit. Alex had suggested keeping a few at her place the night before, and Gene had given her a small smile, agreeing that he'd bring an extra couple of suits that night. She gave a small smile. She knew it was only the early days – good God, they'd only kissed four days previously – but she thought it would work out. She was just waiting for their first fight. That would determine how the whole relationship was going to work out. For now though, she was going to enjoy it.

~(*)~

It had been difficult to get out of bed that morning with Alex sleeping so peacefully next to him. He had wanted to shag her senseless, but resisted, knowing that if he took time to do that, they would both be late and questions would be raised in CID.

As he drove to his flat to pick up a suit, he could not shake the feeling of dread that rose in his stomach. This wasn't a good sign. His gut was never wrong. Something bad was going to happen today. He already knew it. As soon as CID walked in, he would be rounding them up, assigning them each to a different part of London to scour the maps quicker.

He would not let the next victim die. He could not.

~(*)~

Alex finally persuaded herself to get out of bed, stepping into the lukewarm shower. She couldn't shake the dark feeling that had swept over her as soon as she had stepped out of bed, however. There was something about it that made her fear the next attack would be today. But they wouldn't let the victim die. They would find the person, and catch the murderer. She would make sure of it.

~(*)~

He checked his equipment over for the third time, making sure he had everything ready, and grinned. It was time to put his plan into action. And since Hunt didn't seem motivated enough when it was a stranger, maybe one of his own would elicit a faster response.

Because the man wanted to be caught. He wanted Hunt to find him, to unleash his fury for which he was so famous on him.

Today would be the day. His project was coming to an end.

**to be continued**


	3. Ticking

**Thank you to everyone who has reviewed and favourited, and added to story alerts! I have to work a 12 hour tomorrow, so I'm posting a day early, but I'll get back to my normal schedule next week. A huge thank you to 5A7AH, who wrote the new summary for the fic, and also for the long convos full of the most brilliant ideas ever, and renewing my love for series 1. (I love the villains in that series) **

**Chapter 3: Ticking**

"Okay. When this guy rings again, I want us to be prepared. Bolly has no doubt that he's going to do it again," said Gene, looking at the clock on the wall. Alex was only five minutes later than normal. She'd rush through the door any minute now, muttering her apologies, and he would give her a bollocking after addressing the team. That's how it always worked.

However, Gene could not shake the feeling of dread in his stomach. It had continued to grow ever since he got out of bed, and since Alex didn't show up at her normal time, the dread was starting to change to fear.

Gene started listing what sections he wanted the men to look at. They were not going to lose the person this time. Jennifer Waters had haunted him all week. Bolly had helped him, but he could see that she was just as disappointed as he.

He finished giving assignments, and looked at the clock worriedly. Fifteen minutes past the time she'd come in. Gene decided to ring her. If she didn't answer, he'd go to the flat and see if she was there. If she wasn't... Gene didn't want to think about that.

Before ringing her, Gene had an idea. "Granger," he said sternly. "C'mere."

Shaz, looking nervous, stepped into his office, quietly closing the door behind her.

"Have you heard anything from Drake yet this morning?"

Shaz shook her head no. "No, Guv. Do you want me to try ringing her?"

Gene shook his head. "I'll do it. I just wanted to make sure. Thanks Shaz."

Shaz nodded and walked out of his office. He picked up the phone, dialling Alex's number.

As the phone on the other end rung, he looked out into CID. None of them seemed to have noticed anything wrong. They were all still working on the case, but some were getting distracted by their need for coffee or tea.

The phone on the other end continued to ring, and he knew by now Alex would have answered. He hung it up, calling to Shaz.

She came back into his office, starting to look worried.

"I'm going over to the flat. She's not answering. If she's on her way, I'll see her. If the bastard rings while I'm away, I want to know immediately.

Shaz nodded, and Gene swooped out of the office. He strode purposefully down the corridors, parting all the crowds in his path. He moved down the stairs and onto the street, trying to keep himself from running to her flat.

Gene tried to block the worry that was ever increasing when he did not see Alex on the street. He ran across the street, nearly getting run over by a dark green transit van. It honked loudly at him, but he paid it no mind as he reached the outside steps that tenants could use to get to their flats.

_She just overslept, Gene, _he told himself. _You'll go in and she'll be lying in bed. _

He continued this mantra all the way up the stairs, taking out the key and letting himself into her flat.

"Alex?" he called. There was no answer. He wandered all over her flat, trying to quench the panic which was now rising. She was nowhere to be seen. He could tell she had gotten ready for work this morning. Things of hers had been moved around, and her pyjamas had been moved from where she had shed them the night before to the heap of dirty clothes in the corner.

Gene lost no time in running back to the station. He flung the doors open to CID, and the entire group, turned to look at him, questions written all over their faces.

"Bolly's missing," he said. She was gone. There was nothing they could do now but wait.

~(*)~

She was drifting, floating through a fog. It was dense, she could not even see her hand in front of her face. Although, Alex wasn't even sure she had hands at the moment. She seemed just to be a conscious, floating through the endless grey.

Alex wasn't sure what happened. She was on her way to work, and now she was here. Had she passed out? Was Gene trying to wake her up now?

The fog lifted a little. Slowly, memories snaked their way in, letting her remember what had happened.

_She had left her flat, running almost fifteen minutes later than usual. Alex knew she was going to get a bollocking from Gene, but it didn't matter. There was never any menace in his threats. She didn't notice the dark green transit van in the alley between Luigi's and the building next to it, or the man standing next to the building, waiting for her._

_The next thing she knew, an arm had been wrapped around her throat. Then it all went black._

Alex realised that she must have been put in a chokehold. It would have cut off the blood supply to her brain, making her pass out almost instantaneously.

What she couldn't understand though, was why she was having so much trouble waking up. With a chokehold like that, she should have woken up in about a minute or so. Something else must have been given to her to keep her unconscious.

As the fog slowly lifted, she was able to feel again. Alex realised that her hands and legs were tied to the arms and legs of a chair, respectively. A strip of duct tape was over her mouth. She was also freezing.

Alex slowly opened her eyes, suddenly understanding why she was so cold. She had been stripped of her jacket, her blouse and her jeans, leaving her naked except her bra and knickers. She saw her clothes lying in a heap in the corner, and started trying to work her way out of the ropes tethering her to the chair. Eventually, however, she gave up, the rope burn on her arms and legs hurting and throbbing in unison with her head, which was aching from whatever sedative her attacker had used on her.

"You're awake," a voice said quietly. "Good."

Alex tried to turn, but the ropes prevented her from being able to look.

"Don't bother turning," the voice said. "I'll be around in a few moments anyway. I need to get some things together so you can ring that boss of yours."

Alex realised with a sinking stomach who the man was. He was the same man who had killed Jennifer, Rory and Trevor. She was the second female that she had predicted him to get.

And, right after she rung Gene, she would only have sixty minutes to live.

~(*)~

Gene nearly jumped on the phone as soon as it rang. "Hello?" he snapped.

There was a big intake of breath on the other end. "_My name is Alex Drake_," her voice said quietly. "_I am thirty-three years old. If you don't find me in the next sixty minutes, I will die."_

"Bolly," Gene said down the phone, feeling already like he had let her down.

"_Hunt," _came the man's voice.

"What have you done with her you bastard?" he bellowed down the phone.

"_You have sixty minutes to find her Hunt, as soon as I hang up this phone. Here's your clue. Ezra, 10,31."_

The other end hung up.

"Quick! Someone grab a Bible!" Gene yelled at CID, which was sitting silently and fearfully.

Shaz jumped into motion immediately, pulling open her desk drawer and opening her bible.

"What passage, Guv?"

"Ezra, 10:31."

Shaz flipped several pages before exclaiming in excitement. However, her face quickly fell and she read the verse aloud.

"From the descendants of Harim: Eliezer, Ishijah, Malkijah, Shemaiah, Shimeon."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" he raged.

"Maybe the verse is insignificant," Chris suggested. "Maybe that's the address."

Everyone stopped a moment, staring at Chris as though he had sprouted three more heads.

"What?" he asked sheepishly. "It was just an idea."

"A brilliant one," Ray said. "And there lies the problem."

The rest of CID snickered. Gene, however, looked nervously up at the clock. Fifty-five minutes left.

"Right, you lot. Start looking for an Ezra Street or road or whatever. If you find it, you get a drink on me at Luigi's after this mess is over."

CID silenced, all studying their assigned portions of the maps they'd been given. Gene sat at Alex's desk, staring at the map, but not really seeing it. All he could imagine was the torture she was currently going through, and what she had yet to go through.

She wouldn't go through all of that, however. He was going to stop the man, beat seven shades of shit out of him, and then toss him in jail for the rest of his life.

"Guv!" Ray yelled as Gene's phone rang. Gene jumped up, running to his office and grabbing the phone. He put it up to his ear. "Hello?" he said, staring at Ray who was jumping up and down mouthing 'I found it' and pointing to a map.

"Guv," came Alex's voice. It was laced clearly with intense pain. "Please."

"Alex, what's he done to you?"

"I wouldn't be worried about that Hunt. I'd be worried about the forty-four minutes you have left."

He heard Alex moan in pain in the background as the phone on the other end hung up.

"Right, Ray, where is Ezra Street?"

~(*)~

Alex tugged her arms uselessly against the rope as the man burnt her yet again. She looked at the clock on the wall. Thirty-two minutes left until she would die. She hoped Gene would get here soon. The second hand on the clock reached the twelve and the man stood over her, a pair of pliers in his hand. She tried to push herself away. He had only held pliers twice before, and both times it was to rip a nail off. However, this time he didn't move for a hand or a foot. He opened her mouth, putting something in it so she could not bite down.

She realised in horror that he was going to remove one of her teeth, just like he had done for the other three. As the pliers entered her mouth, she desperately tried to concentrate on something besides the taste of metal and the look of intense concentration on the man's face.

Alex noticed that a radio was hanging from his pocket, which was right next to her hand. This must be what he used to contact Gene. Hoping desperately, she stretched her fingers as long as they would go, trying to press down the little button on the radio.

She got it down at the same moment he yanked on her tooth. Pain flooded her jaw, making her dizzy and blackening her vision.

The first thing she was aware of hearing was Gene's voice. "Bolly! Bolly! Talk to me Bolly!"

She opened her eyes, wishing, hoping, but Gene was nowhere to be seen. The man, however was staring at her furiously.

"You pushed the button on the radio," he stated dangerously before grabbing the box and depressing the button. "Thirty one minutes, Hunt."

The radio. She must have pressed the button for the radio and screamed. That's how Gene had heard her. Alex tasted blood in her mouth, and looked down on the floor, seeing a molar lying in between her bare feet.

"What did that feel like, Alex?" the man asked her. She spat in his face, getting immense pleasure at seeing him wipe her blood off his face.

"Why?" she asked. The man glanced up at the clock. She realised the second hand had passed the twelve again. He lit a match, and burnt her on the small of her back.

"Why?" he asked as she whimpered and tried to move away. "Experimental purposes. What is it like to feel pain?"

"Why don't you try this out on yourself and find out?" Alex raged.

"I have congenital insensitivity to pain. To put it simply, I was born not being able to feel it. So all my life, I have wondered: 'What does it feel like?' I'm finally putting it to the test."

"But if you can't feel pain, then how do you compare it?" Alex said, struggling forming words around the pain in her mouth.

"I have my ways," he said grinning, glancing up at the clock. The second hand was on the nine. "I have my equipment, so I can record my data later."

"So this is all just an..._experiment?"_

He nodded. "What are the responses to pain by men and women? Two men, two women, just so I could compare. I must say, I never knew you could black out from pain."

"Why did you kill them at the end?"

"They saw my face," he said, burning her on the side of her neck. And it was the condition. Hunt had to find them in 60 minutes."

"Why only 60 minutes?"

"An hour can mean everything. Life or death, winning and losing, being married or divorced. Besides, it's just got a ring to it."

Alex looked desperately at the clock. Twenty eight minutes. Where was Gene?

~(*)~

Gene looked down at his watch. Fifteen minutes. The man would be on the radio soon. Alex was still no closer to being found, and he felt guilty. But the clue had to be false. There was no number 1031 on Ezra Street. There was nothing close. CID had checked every name in the verse as well. There was absolutely nothing.

"_Hunt," _his radio said suddenly.

"You fed me false clues, you bastard."

"_You can't find her?" _the man asked innocently. _"Such a shame. I mean, you only have twelve minutes anyway."_

Gene cringed as he heard Alex whimper. It was his fault. He couldn't find her and she was going to die.

"_Tell you what. If you can't find her in the next twelve minutes, I'll tell you where she is."_

"Why don't you tell me where she is now?"

The man on the other end tutted. _"Because that, Mr. Hunt, would be telling."_

"Let me speak to her."

"_Alright, but make it quick. She's due to have a toenail removed in forty five seconds."_

"Bolly."

"_Gene." _Her voice was weary, somewhat difficult to understand, and it was easy to hear the pain that she was trying to control.

"I'm going to save you, Alex," he said quietly.

There was silence on the other end for a moment, before she came back on, sounding as though she was holding back tears.

"_Josh Burrows_," she said quickly. "_Experi..._"

She was cut off quickly. The man's voice came over the radio, and he heard Alex's muffled screaming in the background. "_Ten minutes, Hunt. I do hope you find her. I actually want you to catch me._

Gene radioed the station. "Find me everything you can on a Joshua Burrows. Alex just said his name."

He looked at his watch. Nine minutes. Chris and Ray appeared suddenly, out of breath.

"We talked to everyone, Guv. They all said the same thing. Everyone knows everyone on the street and no one would do anything like this. They all let us look around as well."

Gene put his face in his hands. They were going to lose her, and it was going to be his fault. He had led them on a wild goose chase.

"_Five minutes." _

Gene let out a roar of rage. What was he supposed to do? "I can't leave her for dead."

"But we have no idea where she is Guv!"

Chris and Ray looked resigned, and at the same time, completely lost. No one knew what they would do without Alex Drake harping at them in CID.

Gene was furious. He should be out there looking for her, finding her! But it was impossible. Without anything clue to find her, it was all in vain.

"_One minute," _her voice said softly over the radio.

Gene raised the radio to his mouth. "I'm sorry, Bolly," he said quietly, his insides feeling as though they were being ripped apart. He had given up on her. His Alex.

"_Goodbye, Gene."_

There was a shriek of pain and then the sound of her exhaling followed by silence. Gene fell down on his knees, rage and anguish washing over him in waves. Bolly was dead. Alex was gone. Forever.

**to be continued.**


	4. Six Months Later

**Hey all! First off, thank you for all the hopeful reviews last time! I hate to squash it. I did get asked to incorporate rainbows and carebears for this chap, but was not able to. Maybe in future chaps, eh? **

**Anyway, thanks to 5A7AH for twisting everything into a brilliantly evil light, even though she hates all forms of Alex torture. Also, as it has not been mentioned, I don't own Ashes. Just this plot, the murderer and this DI I created. Also for those of you that care to know, it is January 1983 in this chapter. All events prior took place June-July 1982. :)  
**

**Chapter 4: Six Months Later**

It had been six months, and he was still adjusting. Six months, of not seeing her face, of not hearing her voice. Six months without a proper fight, a proper screaming match across CID. And as much as he hoped, Gene knew that was never going to happen again. Alex was dead. And it was his fault. He hadn't found her in time. Hell, he still hadn't found her. Two hours after they had returned to CID, shoulders slumped in defeat and despair, his phone had rung once more.

"_531 Wilmington Street."_

The other end clicked as the person hung up the phone. Gene had collected all of CID and plod and they had all gone to that house. However, when they arrived, there was nothing there except one molar, four nails, loads of burnt matchsticks and a puddle of blood. Forensics had confirmed that the blood and molar were Alex's. They had not been able to find any fingerprints on the matchsticks, and from there, the trail had gone cold.

A memorial service had been held in her honour. It was a quiet affair, only CID had come. The grey skies matched the downcast faces of what had once been her mates and her work colleagues. No one could quite believe that she was gone.

And then her replacement had come in. The man was tall, taller than Gene with dark brown hair and grey eyes. He was three years Gene's junior, but he made Gene nervous. His name was DI David Boyle and he was hell bent on taking over Gene's job.

Not that this sat well with the rest of CID. No, CID was doing everything they could to get him to transfer, to get him to quit. He was the butt of most of their jokes, and Boyle would often come in to find most of his things tampered with or missing. Gene still chuckled at the memorable day when Boyle's entire desk had disappeared from CID altogether. Boyle had been left sitting on his chair, using a filing cabinet as a desk until Luigi had phoned to ask Gene to please remove the desk from his kitchen so he could serve customers lunch. Gene had sternly lectured CID about the incident, promising that if the people who had done it were caught, they would be punished most severely. He had pretended not to notice Chris and Ray slinking down in their chairs and as soon as Boyle's back was turned had given them a wink.

But even through the mass of jokes played on Boyle, nothing could brighten Gene's dark mood. He found himself going to Luigi's less and less, staying up in Alex's flat more and more. He had not touched anything in her flat since her disappearance, save for emptying her refrigerator and taking out the rubbish so the flat wouldn't smell. Other than that, everything sat exactly as it had six months, coated in a heavy layer of dust, except one spot on the floor. There was a little small spot of just carpet, free of any dust at all. It was where Gene sat every night, swilling the house rubbish he had brought up from Luigi's, imagining all the nights he and Alex had spent up here. Before they had gotten together it had mostly been to get drunk and complain about the woes of modern policing. After they had gotten together, the next four nights had been spent in pure bliss.

But now that was over. All he had left were the memories. What ran most through his mind, however, was not the four nights of blissful happiness. It was that day, six months ago, in her final minute of life. Her final two words.

"_Goodbye, Gene."_

She knew that he had given up. She knew that her time on this earth was over. Her voice, though laced with pain, was cautiously trying to cover up the despair at her imminent death looming over her. Because Gene knew, although she had tried to jump out in front of that police car the first day he had met her, that she really did enjoy life here. He knew that she didn't want to die. Her quiet, pained, and miserable voice had moved him that day. He played those final two words over and over and over in his head all night long as he turned in the bed that had bed that had become unfamiliar in the four days he had spent in her flat. The sleepless night had been spent tossing and turning, hearing her say _"Goodbye Gene" _until he couldn't stand it anymore. Finally, near daybreak, he had been moved enough to feel one trickle of liquid fall down his cheek. Gene wiped his hand underneath his eye, staring at the little droplet of water clinging to his finger, glistening in the moonlight. This wasn't right. Gene Hunt didn't cry. He didn't cry for Sam or even Stu. The only person he had cried for was his Mam, and that was a mere two tears before he forced himself to stop.

Gene had steeled himself, had made himself stop the tears. It was ridiculous for a grown man to be crying. Bolly was dead. Deaths happened to coppers. It was a part of the profession. If you didn't know someone who had died on duty, then you were still a new copper. He remembered his first month. His mentor had been shot down right in front of him. Gene had been stunned almost immobile, but recovered himself before being shot and killed right along with his mentor. Instead, he had killed the man, returning to the station with more respect than he had had when he left. It was a rite of passage. Everyone had a story of someone that they knew that had fallen. And even if they didn't, now they did.

Every morning was the same. He'd get up at day break or even earlier, and get into CID before anyone else did. Boyle was coming in earlier and earlier as well. Gene figured this was an attempt to get in before him one day. It didn't matter. This was one bastard he could control. And Boyle would never take over his job.

Gene stared now at the empty CID. It was just gone six in the morning. Even Boyle wouldn't be there this early. He stared at Boyle's desk. He found on mornings like this, he could almost imagine Alex sitting at that desk, her smile crossing her face as she laughed loudly, or the small wrinkle that creased in her forehead when her brow furrowed.

Time was trying to steal his memories, however. But he had found a way around that. He had found tapes of her talking into her Dictaphone, and sticking to the last few months of her life, he found he could continue to hear her voice, her laugh, remember the small details that were trying to escape him. He would not let himself forget her. He wouldn't forget a single thing about her. She was Bolly. The fact that her heart was no longer beating had not changed that fact. And he would find the man who killed her. He had promised himself that from day one. Even when the super had told them to close the case until new evidence came up, Gene continued to work on it on the slow days, and on those nights he couldn't sleep.

The ringing of the phone startled back to reality. It was only half six, and Boyle as well as the rest of CID had yet to arrive. Gene sighed, picking up the phone.

"Hunt."

"_Hello, DCI Hunt. How are you doing?" _Gene's stomach dropped as soon as the voice started to speak. It was Josh Burrows.

"Burrows. Who do you have now?"

"_Not a single soul, Mr. Hunt. Alex completed my experiment. She was a great subject. I learned loads."_

Gene curled and uncurled his fist, imagining the bastard doubling over from a punch to the stomach. "If you don't have anyone, why are you ringing me? Just to gloat?"

"_No, Mr. Hunt. I just wanted to tell you, that one of the people you work with isn't all he seems."_

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"_Someone knows more than they should about Alex."_

"Who's that then?"

"_Now you know that would be telling you too much, Hunt. You've got to work these clues out on your own," _Burrows said mockingly.

"Last time I worked out the clues, they were all a lie."

"_These are one hundred per cent true, Mr. Hunt. Seven steps to solving it, just like a Rubik's Cube. Seven steps to finding me."_

"Why are you giving me clues to find you?" Gene was furious, but at the same time extremely confused. What kind of mental bastard wanted to be caught?

"_The first clue is to go back to the house on Wilmington Street. Round the back, there was a lovely flower garden. Three feet to the right, about six inches deep, you'll find what you've been looking for."_

The phone hung up before Gene could get another word in. What had he meant, six inches deep? Could Alex still be alive? Was this a seven step process to find her?

Hope started to kindle, but Gene quickly banished it before it grew out of control. If he hoped, he would just be disappointed. He gathered his coat, putting it on himself, reaching into his pocket to check his whiskey. Good. He had a full flask. He had a feeling that he might need it. He started to stride out of the office, catching a look at the clock on his way out. Six-forty.

As Gene strode out, he passed Boyle, who looked surprised to see him leaving. Gene, not stopping for anything, flipped up two fingers as he passed, quickly going down the steps to the Quattro, not even bothering to see Boyle's reaction.

Taking a deep breath in, he started the car. It roared to life just like every other morning, but today, it sounded different. For the first time ever, Gene did not scream away from the kerb. He was too afraid of what was waiting for him. He drove under the speed limit the entire way, taking extra time to drink in the surroundings of London waking up. The sky was turning grey with daybreak, and more and more lights were being turned on on all the streets. Finally, after what had seemed like thirty seconds, but had probably been more along the lines of twenty minutes, Gene pulled up in front of that house. It was vacant, boarded up and starting to fall into disrepair.

Gene couldn't help it. He felt the need to tour the house once more. He grabbed a torch he kept in the Quattro and slowly got out of the car. He kicked the door down, the bang echoing around the vast emptiness. The house was dark inside, the light of dawn not able to work its way through the cracks in the boards. Gene switched on his torch, pointing to the staircase.

It was down there where she had been tortured. It was down there she had been killed. Taking a deep breath, Gene walked downstairs.

Nothing had changed since he had last visited six months before, except for a few items missing. There was a stain on the floor where the puddle of blood had been before and the molar and nails were missing. Besides the stain, there was no sign that anyone had been there. Sighing, Gene decided to go examine what he had been avoiding. He walked back up the stairs, aware of every footfall as it reverberated through the house. The door he had kicked open was shining the brightness of the sunrise into the empty house.

He moved outside, flipping off the torch and moving round to the back of the house. He spotted the flower garden right away. Gene moved silently to the middle of the garden, studying the grass on each side. Finally, he spotted a bit that looked just a bit different than the rest. It wasn't quite as overgrown, a little less healthy looking than the rest of the grass.

Gene realised he had no shovel in which to dig. Still, the man had only said it was about six inches.

Gene knelt down, trying to lift the soil with his fingers. The ground was softer than he expected, although still slightly firm from the cold. His fingers scrabbled in the earth, pulling up chunk after chunk of soil. As he pulled out another handful, something white showed through the brown of the earth.

Gene started to dig more quickly now. Finally, it was clear what the white thing was.

It was her jacket.

Gene pulled up one corner of it, reaching, looking for the inside pocket. Finally, he found it, pulling out the warrant card that had been stowed away inside.

He opened it, even though he knew perfectly well who was buried in the earth. Alex Drake's photo stared up at him, stating her name and rank.

She had been buried in this shallow grave for God only knew how long. He had finally found her. There was no denying it now. Alex Drake was dead.

* * *

Authors note: It takes a body approximately 128.5 days to become dry remains at 10 degrees centigrade. Adjusting the temperatures to midsummer, this could have happened in as few as 61. If you want to do the equation, it is 1285 divided by the average temperature centigrade. The result is the amount of days that it takes to decay to skeletal remains.

* * *

**to be continued.**


	5. Surprises

**To those of you who reviewed last chapter, thank you! To those of you who read last chapter thank you!**

**To Rolephant: Thanks for describing what lofts are like, as I have never been in one.**

**To 5A7AH: Thanks for everything, including motives and criminals :)  
**

**Chapter 5: Surprises**

Gene sat next to the shallow grave, staring at it for what seemed like hours. He had slowly uncovered more of the body. All that remained was bone and clothes. He was grateful for this. To see her body, decomposing, covered in maggots was his worst fear. He knew that if he had seen her rotting corpse, that would be the only thing he would remember.

Gene picked up his radio.

"Skip."

"_Yes, Guv?"_ his voice said.

"Send forensics to 531 Wilmington Street. I've just uncovered a body."

"_Right away, Guv."_

Gene heard the question in Viv's voice, but the man had enough sense not to ask anything. Everyone knew what had happened on that street six months earlier.

After thirty minutes or so, cars started pulling up in front of the house. Unable to resist, Gene reached out and stroked the cheekbone of the skeleton, imagining the face of the woman it had used to help shape.

"Bye Bolly," he whispered before storming to the Quattro, letting forensics in to examine the remains.

~(*)~

CID was quiet when Gene returned. No doubt Viv had told them all what he had said over the radio. Gene steeled himself for the inevitable round of questions that would soon be emerging from everyone.

There were several moments of silence as CID just stared at Gene, who was stuck in the doorway. He knew they were still digesting the information, and that very, very soon, someone would break the silence.

"Are we sure it's her?" Shaz asked.

Gene pulled her warrant card out of his pocket and showed it to the room. "I found this," he said, carefully controlling his voice.

Although CID remained silent, Gene watched their faces change from question to despair.

"This was on the remains, tucked in the pocket of a white leather jacket. The body was buried about six inches underneath the ground. The pathologist is looking at the remains right now. He's going to identify whether or not it is really DI Drake."

One of the men raised their hands. "Riley, what is it?"

DC Jeff Riley had joined the team about three months after Alex had died. He had proven to be an asset to the team, offering up suggestions that often lead to the capture of the suspect.

"I don't understand one thing, Guv. If we've been watching the house, then how would he be able to bury her without anyone noticing the soil being disturbed?"

"We only watched it for the first week or so. After he didn't take anyone else, the Super ordered us off the case."

"But wouldn't he want to get rid of the body somewhere? He couldn't hold on to a body for more than two days without it starting to smell."

"He could have stored the body," Chris piped up. "If he had access to a large freezer, that would work. Or maybe he emptied out a fridge and put the body in there."

Gene, not enjoying the way the discussion was going, intervened. "The point is, Riley, he had plenty of opportunity to put the body in the back garden."

With that, he stormed into his office to brood. CID continued to chat, but although there were grins on some faces, no laughter emerged. He could tell that most of them were affected by the idea that there really was no hope for Alex to be alive. He knew that even though there had been a memorial service, some of CID had the idea that Alex wasn't really dead, that the killer had faked it. But now, with a body, how could the evidence be faked?

Gene put his head in his hands. Suddenly, his phone rang. Gene sighed. Great. Another call to go out on.

He picked up the phone. "Hunt," he growled.

"_I must say, it is disappointing to find something like that, isn't it?" _

It was Burrows. Gene had to stop himself from yelling down the phone. "Why did you show me that?"

"_You wanted to find her, did you not? And you want to find me as well. I told you that there were seven steps to finding me. You've just completed step one, and I'm assuming that step two will be completed in just a few hours. Remember now. Someone you're working with isn't what he appears to be. I'll ring you again after step two is finished."_

The line clicked off, and Gene slammed down the phone angrily. He had to find the bastard. Gene opened his drawer and pulled out his scotch. He needed a drink. He poured the amber liquid into a glass and downed it in one gulp as someone knocked at the door.

"Enter," he said.

The door opened, and Evan White walked in, followed closely by little Alex Price, who was holding a Rubik's Cube. Only, she wasn't so little anymore. A year and a half had passed since he had last seen her. She had grown quite a bit and her hair was a bit darker than he remembered. She was out of her school uniform, now just wearing what was stylish for little posh girls.

"DCI Hunt," White said, extending his hand.

"White." Gene looked down at the little Alex. "Hi, little lady."

She looked up at him, and Gene felt the breath knocked out of him. Twenty five years may have separated their ages, but the eyes were the same. Alex Price had Alex Drake's eyes. The hazel orbs peered at him cautiously, before turning to Evan for reassurance.

"It's alright, Scrap," he said kindly. "This is Gene Hunt, remember? He's in charge of this station."

Alex looked around Gene's office before peering out into the main CID. "I remember this place," she said in a clear, high voice. "You and him and a woman were in here talking. I sat on that desk." She pointed to the place that had been taken over by DI Boyle. "He wasn't here, that was the woman's desk. Where is she?"

Alex stared at Gene, her eyes demanding an answer. It amazed him how much that look reminded him of Alex Drake.

Evan knelt down in front of Alex. "The woman left one day and she didn't come back. DCI Hunt and his colleagues looked for her, but they couldn't find her. But it doesn't look like she's going to come back."

"Did she leave like Mummy and Daddy?"

Evan hesitated a moment before answering. "Yes. Like your Mummy and Daddy."

Alex looked up at Gene again. "I'm sorry, Mr. Hunt."

"Alex, why don't you go play with your Rubik's Cube with Chris and Ray?" Evan asked her.

"Which ones are they?"

"They're the two with the worst hairstyles in the office," Gene replied, smirking. Alex peered out into the main office again, searching.

"Is it the man with the highlights talking to the man with the perm?"

"Yes," Gene said, trying not to laugh.

"Okay," the girl said, holding up her cube. "Seven steps to solving it," she said. "I've solved it once, but then I mixed the colours up and haven't been able to do it since."

Gene merely nodded. Alex walked out of the room and Evan closed the door behind her, an apologetic look on his face.

"Sorry. I couldn't find anyone for her to stay with, and she hates that school she goes to."

"No problem. How's she doing?"

"It was rough for her at first, but she's adjusted rather well I think. I think she blocked most of it from her memory however, and we never speak about it."

Gene nodded, staring at the little girl, amazed at how much she reminded him of Alex Drake.

"Has the search progressed any?" Evan asked, snapping Gene out of his reverie.

"We found her body today. Guess that's it really. No doubt now."

"You're certain?"

"Her warrant card and clothes were on the remains," Gene said stoically. "We're waiting for forensic report, but it should match up."

Evan nodded, looking back out on the little girl.

"So, White, what did you need?"

"I'm here on behalf of my client, Derek Lawrence. He alleges police brutality."

"Course he does, nasty little scrote."

"Listen, DCI Hunt. If the timing's bad, I can come back."

Gene looked at Evan. He looked distinctly uncomfortable. "Yeah. Why don't you come back in a few days. It's nothing that can't be put off."

Evan nodded. "Right. I'll see you in a few days."

With that, Evan swept out of the office, only stopping to collect Alex from Chris and Ray who looked like they were quite enjoying trying to work out the cube.

_I work with a bunch of bloody teenagers,_ he thought to himself.

Suddenly, his phone rang again. Gene sighed. If it was that Burrows bastard again...

He picked up the phone. "Hunt."

"DCI Hunt? This is Brian Greene down in forensics. I think you may want to get down here. Immediately, if not sooner."

Gene dropped the phone and rushed out of his office. "Ray, Chris, with me," he snapped.

The two looked at each other, shocked, but moved quickly with him down the stairs into the lab.

Greene met them at the door. "DCI Hunt, good. I have to show you something." He led them to a table where Alex's bones lay, spread out into the form her body would have been. Only a few were missing.

"Please indulge me here, DCI Hunt, but I'm not going to get straight to the point. I understand how you are, but this needs to be explained. First off, this morning you found this skeleton about six inches under the ground. It was dressed in the clothes Alex Drake was wearing. Obviously this caused you to believe the body was her."

"It was her warrant card," Gene said flatly.

"Yes. But, I dug around and took the molar that we found on the crime scene out to compare with the rest of her teeth, and found something interesting." Greene picked up the skull, showing both sides of it.

"There's not a tooth missing," Gene breathed.

"Exactly. Also, these bones are not consistent with what we'd find with someone buried underground for six months. There is no cartilage left at all, and the bones don't have a waxy substance on them. Usually, when skin has just finished decaying off the bone, there is that substance. Quite simply put, DCI Hunt, this is not Alex Drake."

~(*)~

The three men walked back into CID, all wearing expressions of shock. Gene had felt the little stab of hope enter again. Could she be alive? Was it possible? Composing himself, he stood by the marker board.

"Right, you useless lot of tossers. I just talked to the pathologist. That body we found this morning wasn't Alex Drake."

Riley raised his hand. "Does that mean Drake could be alive?"

"It's a possibility, Riley. Why would they fake us out with a body? Its used to throw us off the scent of where she really is. Revealing where that body was is a dickheaded move by the killer. It gives us the opportunity to renew the search for her."

CID nodded, sitting staring at Gene.

"Well, what are you lot waiting for? Get to bloody work! We've got a DI to find!"

CID jumped into action and Gene retreated back into his office. Only five minutes later, the phone rang for the third time that morning.

"_Step two finished. Congratulations. On to step three. Go to the old Price house."_

The man rung off before Gene could say anything. He had to go there. He had to find this man.

Gene raced out of CID, just like he had that morning. Boyle just smirked as Gene raced out, but Gene didn't bother with it. In just a few hours, he could possibly have his DI back.

Gene got into the Quattro, letting it roar to life. The mood could not have been more different than that morning. When he pulled away from the kerb, the tyres squealed their protest loudly, but he didn't care. He had to go there. He had to go to the Price house.

He finally arrived, ready to kick the door down when he remembered what Ray had told him a year and a half before. Ray and Alex had snuck in. She had used a key hidden under a turtle. Gene looked around, and sure enough, there was the turtle. He lifted the statuette and found the key. He slipped the key into the lock, opening the door.

It was silent in the house, reminding Gene of the house he had invaded only that morning. This time, however, sunset was falling. He didn't feel the need to be quiet this time. "Alex!" he called.

There was no reply. Gene was starting to get creeped out. Nothing seemed to have moved from the last time he was in the house. It was like a shrine to the family. He walked up the stairs, peering in every room. And in every room it was the same. Besides a heavy layer of dust, everything seemed like a family was going to be back any second.

That was, until he got to what he assumed was Alex Price's room. Everything was gone from it. Faded spots showed where posters and photos used to hang, where furniture used to sit. He moved toward the wardrobe. Opening it, he was surprised. Most of the little girl's clothes were still there.

Baffled, Gene moved out into the hallway when he heard a shriek of surprise followed by a clunk of something falling to the floor. It sounded like it was coming from up in the loft. There was a ladder sitting on the wall opposite. Gene immediately spotted the door to the loft. There was a little bar hanging down that crossed with another one attached to the ceiling. It was fastened by a heavy silver lock. Luckily, he had taken some advice from Sam. Now Gene Hunt could pick girly locks.

Only a few minutes later, the lock opened with a _clunk _and Gene pulled it off. He slid open the door, blinded by a bright light. Gene put the ladder up, climbing into the loft, unknowing of what he would find there.

He came face to face with an Adam and the Ants poster. A few pictures of daisies hung next to it. He turned slowly to his right, a table full of dolls and stuffed animals staring at him. A little pink radio sat next to them. Although the button was pressed to play, no sound came out. Gene continued to turn, taking in the room. Three quarters of the way through his revolution, he saw a small table. Bears and dolls were sat around it, all with tea cups in front of them. In the centre of the table was a Rubik's cube, all the colours put in place. And sat at the head of the table, with her hair in braided bunches, a tea pot in her hands and an expression of utmost shock on her face, was Alex Drake.

**to be continued.**


	6. Mr Tiddles

**Right! I realise I left on a bit of a cliffhanger last time! So I felt nice and decided to post! This chapter is a bit...odd...**

**Thanks to 5A7AH for helping me with this plot. I know you have fun, even though you say you hate Alex torture :P  
**

**Chapter 6: Mr. Tiddles**

Gene was frozen in place, drinking in every detail. Her fringe had grown, it was now down to her chin. The braids fell midway down her back. They were messily done, little strands falling out everywhere. It appeared that they were tied together with yarn from the hair of a doll. Her skin was pale, probably because of months spent in this room. She had lost weight as well. The dress she was wearing swamped her figure.

As Gene stared, he realised, he had seen that dress before somewhere. Then it dawned on him. The dress must have been one of Caroline Price's dresses.

"Do you want to join?"

Her voice started him out of his reverie, making him jump and hit his head on a beam. Gene swore loudly, rubbing his head. Alex started backing away slowly.

"Alex," Gene said. "What are you doing?"

She looked at him, puzzled. "I was having a tea party."

"A tea party? What are you, four?"

Her eyes flashed in anger as she tried to cross her arms and tried to stand up in the small space. "I am not six," she huffed, her face pouting. "I'm five."

Gene just stared at her. "What?"

"I'm five," she repeated, still glaring at him.

"Right," said Gene, deciding not to ask. "Let's get out of here, Alex."

She peered at him curiously for a moment. "How do you know who I am? I haven't met you before. Besides, I'm not s'posed to go out with strangers."

Gene was seriously confused. What was she going on about? What did she mean, they hadn't met before? Gene wasn't able to ponder this, however, as she had taken a seat on a chair much to small for her and started to pour imaginary tea from the teapot.

"Alex," he said impatiently. He really didn't need this at the moment. He was supposed to be rejoicing that she was alive. However, right now he just wanted to leave. "What are you doing?"

"I invited you. But you're just like a typical grown up. Mr. Tiddles says that he doesn't want you at the table."

"And who, may I ask, is Mr. Tiddles?"

Alex pointed to a bear on her right. "Him. He says you're a mean man who smells like whiskey. He says you won't appreciate the fact that I finished the Rubik's cube with no help at all. So you can't join anymore."

She crossed her arms, looking smug. Gene just stared at her, his mouth hanging open.

"Right," he said slowly. "Well, tell Mr. Tiddles that teatime is over. You're coming with me."

"No!" Alex backed away from the table, moving as far back as the slanted ceiling would allow. Gene sighed, advancing on her in two steps. She tried to run around him, but he caught her. He picked her up and threw her over his shoulder in a fireman's lift and walked to the trapdoor.

"No! NO! Let me go!" Alex yelled, beating on his back. "Mr. Tiddles was right! You're a bad man!"

Gene ignored her, struggling down the ladder with only one hand. Alex started kicking him. As his boot-clad feet touched the floor, one of her bare ones nearly kicked him in a dangerous area. Eyes wide, Gene quickly adjusted her so that her feet couldn't reach that spot.

He descended down the stairs, and by the time he reached the front door, her struggle had ceased. Instead, she was sobbing quietly.

Gene immediately felt guilty. After six months of missing her, the first thing he had made her do was cry. He put her on her feet next to the Quattro and wiped a tear from her face. "Hey," he said softly. "It'll be okay."

Alex sniffled, looking up at him, her eyes wide. "B-but I d-don't understand!"

_Neither do I, _Gene thought.

"Get in the car, and we'll figure it all out, okay?"

Alex nodded, getting into the car. Breathing a sigh of relief, Gene got into the driver's seat and raced away from the house as fast as he could.

~(*)~

Alex was scared. She didn't understand what was going on. She was reading when she heard the door open. Alex knew that this meant that she had to sit on her bed. There had been a man, a long time ago, who had explained the rules to her. If she heard the door, she must sit on her bed and not make a sound.

The problem was, she got bored easily. After a few moments of sitting, she dared to get off the bed to retrieve the Rubik's Cube. She loved it. Somehow, she knew that there were seven steps to solving it. Alex was sure that she had solved it once before, but couldn't remember when. So she had sat, absentmindedly twirling the colours until she looked down again.

She had let out a shriek of surprise and dropped the cube. She had solved it! Alex was so excited, she felt she needed a tea party to celebrate. Forgetting about the door downstairs and how she was supposed to wait on her bed, she had collected her toys to join her.

When the door in the floor had opened, Alex had stayed still. Usually no one came up, just a tray of food appeared. And that's when she realised, something was wrong.

She had already eaten. Her clock told her she had only eaten about an hour earlier. The person who brought her food never came back that quickly.

Then she had seen the blonde head emerge from the hole. That was wrong. The person who brought her food had light brown hair and a beard. She never saw the front of his face but she had caught his profile once.

The man had emerged, climbing into her room. He had stared at the wall and then started a slow turn. When he had reached her, he stopped and stared. He stared for a long time, making her uncomfortable.

Then he had been mean and taken her to his car. She was certain that the man who brought her food wouldn't like the fact that she was gone. The mean man would get in trouble. Alex couldn't help herself. She laughed at the idea of the mean man's mummy getting angry at him. He deserved it though.

The mean man glanced over at her when she laughed. She couldn't understand why he looked so worried, or so confused. Was there something wrong? Had she done something?

He turned sharply around the corner and she was thrown against the door. "Ow!" she complained. "That hurt."

The mean man didn't say anything, tightening his grip on the steering wheel even as he slowed down to park.

"Okay, Alex," he said. "We're gonna go inside where I work. But I don't want you to get lost, okay?"

Alex nodded, wishing he had at least let her bring Mr. Tiddles along. That way at least she could hold on to something that brought her comfort.

The mean man grabbed her hand and started to pull her along. He took her up lots of stairs until they finally reached an office full of men smoking and a woman typing on a typewriter.

The mean man punched the door open and everyone looked at it. As soon as they did, all motion in the room stopped. A man with highlights' cigarette fell out of his mouth, laying ignored on his trousers.

Only one man didn't seem to be surprised at the mean man arriving. He merely peered up and then looked down on paperwork that he was working on. She looked at the nametag on his desk. DI David Boyle.

Suddenly, the man with the highlights screamed, breaking the stillness. Alex laughed, not understanding why the office still were staring at her.

"Guv?" said a man with a perm.

"Price's old house. In the loft," the mean man grunted. "Shaz, take her to one of the interview rooms. I want her checked out by a doctor and one of those psychiatrists."

The room looked at him as he said that. The man, who was apparently named Guv, just raised his eyebrows.

"Get Viv to watch her, and then come back in her."

The lady named Shaz walked over to her and took her hand. "C'mon ma'am," she muttered, still staring.

The lady led her to a room with striped wallpaper and shut the door. Alex stared out the window, wondering what she had done to make them all stare like that. Maybe it would be explained. As she waited, sitting on the hard chair, she found herself wishing once more for Mr. Tiddles. She couldn't even talk to him. There was nothing left to do but wait.

~(*)~

Gene stared at his CID until Shaz came back.

"I found her," he said finally.

"She's been at the Price's this whole time? What all has she told you?" Shaz asked.

"I don't know. And nothing useful. She thinks she's five."

Chris dropped his cigarette again, this time making sure he picked it up right away.

"Five?" Ray asked. "How can she think she's five?"

"I don't bloody know Raymondo! That's why I asked for a psychowotsit!"

"How did you find her?" Shaz asked.

"The man who took her has started ringing me again, giving me clues to find him. He said this was step three."

"But why would he want you to find him?"

Gene just shook his head as Viv walked in the room.

"Viv. You were supposed to stay with her."

Viv, looking frazzled, shook his head. "Doctor's in there. He ordered me out."

"Did she do anything?"

Viv smirked. "She told me you were a mean man and that you're mummy was going to punish you when you got home."

Gene pressed his fingers to the bridge of his nose. "Bloody great. I have a witness who can help with a case, and she's absolutely mad."

"She wouldn't talk to you anyway, Guv," Viv said, trying not to laugh. "She says she doesn't talk to mean men."

"Right. That is the end to this conversation." As his sentence finished, the phone rang.

_Perfect timing, _Gene thought.

"Hunt," he said.

"_You should be thanking me, you know."_

"Why would I be thanking you? She's completely mad."

"_That wasn't me. I didn't know where she was until about a week ago. I thought she was dead as well."_

"What are you talking about?"

"_I had to give her up. Blackmail and all that. But to find out who made her go mad, you'll have to look at who owns the house, won't you? You're on to step four. Congratulations."  
_The other end clicked. Gene, less annoyed with the man than he had been in the past, put down the phone normally.

"Ray, Chris, Shaz, get looking on who owns the Price house now. I'm going to check on Alex."

He stormed out of the room, to the first interview room, where the doctor was emerging.

"So?" Gene asked rudely.

The doctor sighed. "She's not ill anyway. She's got some scarring on her chest. It says _'TOO LATE', _and quite a few burns on her. Other than that, the only thing I could find wrong was that her toenail is half grown back and one of her molars is missing.

Gene nodded. This was all consistent with the recovery of what had happened six months earlier. "What about this...idea she has?"

"About being five? I'm no psychologist, but I do believe this was brought on by solitary confinement. The human needs social interaction. Otherwise they can go completely mad in only a few weeks."

Gene looked at Alex, who was sitting quietly in one of the chairs, her chin on her knees. "The psychologist will be here in a few minutes," the doctor said. "He can give you a better idea of where she's at."

With that, the doctor left. As he departed, Gene heard footsteps running up behind him.

"Guv!" Shaz panted.

"What is it?" he asked, turning.

"The..man...who..owns...the Price house," she huffed.

"Yeah? Who is it?"

"Evan...White."

**to be continued...  
**


	7. Two Alex's

**So: I must thank you all for the lovely reviews! This chapter does have plot in it, even though it seems like it doesn't.**

**Thanks to 5A7AH for all the ideas, even if she doesn't remember half of them.  
**

**Chapter 7: Two Alex's**

A man stepped out of the interview room, putting a notepad in his bag and zipping it up. Gene stared at him impatiently.

"So?" he asked rudely.

"Remind me of one thing. How long was she there?"

"Six months."

The psychologist nodded. "It's just what I thought. The solitary confinement got to her. Six months is not a short term to spend without any human contact. Even a week is difficult. She believes herself to be about five. You should expect all the same behaviours. And I would suggest finding 'Mr. Tiddles' and giving it to her."

"It's evidence," Gene said flatly.

"Be that as it may, it is apparent that Alex is more comfortable with the bear. Right now, you are going to have to treat her as she acts. But, at the same time, show her the adult world, adult responsibilities. Let her look through old case files. Maybe her brain will make a connection that way. But don't startle her. Don't just suddenly say to her that she's thirty-three. Approach the subject when it comes up naturally. Other than that, there's nothing to do but wait."

Gene nodded. "Do you think her memory will come back?"

"It's very likely. You just have to find the right trigger. Oh. And you might want to work on building up a better rapport with her. Right now, she calls you 'the mean man.'"

With that, the psychologist turned on his heel and left. Taking a deep breath, Gene entered the interview room. Alex sat at the table, drawing idly with a pen someone must have given her. As the door shut, she looked up at him. Gene tried to ignore the fear that flashed in her eyes for a moment.

Gene coughed, unsure of how to start. "Do...do you miss Mr. Tiddles?"

Alex looked at him and nodded her head slowly, her lips pouting.

"Right then." Gene got out his radio. "Raymondo."

"Yes Guv."

"You at the house?"

"Yes Guv."

"Do you see the bear at the table that's to your left of the empty chair?

"Yes Guv."

"Bring it back," Gene ordered, feeling ridiculous.

"Are you sure? That could be..."

"Yes, Carling, I'm sure! Now hurry up and get your arse back here!"

Ray muttered a yes and then the radio went silent. Gene looked at Alex, who was peering at him curiously.

"Mr. Guv?" she asked cautiously.

"Mr. Guv?" he asked back, unsure of what she was saying.

"My feet are cold, Mr. Guv."

Gene looked down. Of course her feet were cold. They were bare. Gene remembered having her hold his hand as they walked into the station. He hadn't even thought twice. But it was January. It was cold outside.

Gene felt guilty. He had made her wander around outside without a coat or shoes. "We'll get you some shoes, Alex," he said, much kinder than he had been earlier. "Do you want some tea?"

She nodded her head. "Can I have sugar in it?"

Gene shook his head yes. "Of course you can, love. I'll get Shaz right on it. You stay here. I'll be right back."

Alex gave a small smile and nodded. "Okay, Mr. Guv."

Gene stopped. "Alex, why do you call me Mr. Guv?"

She looked up at him, confused. "Isn't that your name?"

"No. Why do you think it's my name?"

"The man, with the perm, he called you Guv. And so did the man on the radio."

"That's my nickname," Gene explained. "People who work here call me that. You can call me Gene."

"Okay Mr. Gene."

Sighing, Gene left the room to find Shaz. He swore when he remembered that she was with Chris, questioning Evan White. He'd have to make the tea himself.

As he got the things ready, he considered all that was going on. Really, it should be him going out to question White. But when Alex was found, he knew that he had to be there. He had to know what was really wrong with her. He couldn't just expect someone to report what the psychologist said accurately. No. He needed to be here.

Gene was eager to hear what White had to say, as Chris and Shaz had taken a tape recorder with them. Ray had been sent to investigate the Price house, as had forensics. Gene was certain that Josh Burrow's fingerprints would be found all over the entire house. All it was now was a waiting game.

~(*)~

Alex sat, feeling a little lonely in the room they put her in. Mr. Gene had gone to make tea, and she was unsure of what to do. Usually, she'd talk to Mr. Tiddles, but he wasn't here. Mr. Gene said that he was coming though. He said someone named Ray was going to bring him back.

Alex didn't know what to make of Mr. Gene. One moment he was mean, but now he was being extremely nice. Maybe he was trying to make up for earlier. Unsure, Alex peered out the window of the room. He was holding two mugs, but he was talking to a couple people. One she recognised as Shaz and the other was the man who had burnt his trousers on a cigarette earlier. Alex let herself laugh as she remembered that. It certainly was funny.

Suddenly, the door opened and an older girl walked in, followed by Mr. Gene with her mug of tea. "Alex, you play nice," he said softly.

She looked at him a moment before nodding slowly. "Where's Mr. Tiddles?" she whispered seriously.

"Ray is on his way back with it."

Alex nodded and Mr. Gene walked out of the room. Suddenly, the older girl spoke.

"Your name is Alex?"

Alex nodded.

"Mine is too," the girl said.

"Did they steal you too?" Alex asked.

"Steal me? What do you mean?"

"They took me from my room. I don't even know who they are."

"They brought me here because my godfather is being interviewed," the girl said. "They're really nice here."

Alex shook her head. "Not to me! Especially that man with the blonde hair."

"Gene?" the girl laughed, suddenly growing serious. "Wait a second. I know you."

Alex stared at the girl doubtfully. "You do?"

"Yes! When my parents were...killed...a year and a half ago, you helped Gene. But Evan said that you were gone too."

Alex frowned. "I have no clue what you're talking about."

The girl frowned back. "But...you _are._ Alex Drake right?"

Alex was confused. What _was _her last name? The two lapsed into silence as she sat, thinking.

~(*)~

"_There is something in Alex Drake that reminds me of Alex Price," _Evan White's careful voice said from the tape recorder. _"That was just one of the things I didn't like about her. One day, back when she was harassing Caroline, she said that her room was exactly like my Alex's was. So when I created the room, I made it like Alex Price's was."_

Shaz's voice came on the recording. _"But why did you do it?"_

"_She harassed Caroline from the day she met her. She passed judgements down on us like she was high and mighty. Tried to get involved in our lives like she was Caroline's long lost daughter or something. And I was willing to accept the stalking, the judgemental attitude before Hunt was suspended. Then we had drinks in her flat, and couldn't stop talking about Hunt. What does that oaf have that I don't? And then that day. When Caroline died. That comment, it just has hung over me since. Of course I'm not going to tell Alex that her father tried to kill her. I'm not a horrible person. But she made it sound like I was. And that made me mad. So when I found out she was still alive, I made the man give her to me."_

"_Where's the man who tortured her?" _Chris asked.

"_I don't know. I only know that his name is Josh Burrows."_

Gene pressed the stop button on the tape player, completely disgusted. Evan White was down in the cells now, leaving him with yet another problem. Alex Price had no more family to take care of her. He would have taken her in, but he couldn't handle Alex Drake and a ten year old on top of that. He didn't have the slightest clue with kids.

As Gene opened the door to his office, Ray came into CID, drawing sniggers because of the bear that was dangling from his right hand. Looking embarrassed, Ray walked up to Gene, handing him the bear.

"Thanks Raymondo. She wouldn't shut up about the bloody thing."

Ray merely nodded, ducking to his seat quickly. Gene set the bear on his desk, realising that the effect of his next words might be altered by him holding a toy in his hands.

"Right. We have two Alex's in the interview room. One is almost ten, one thinks she is five. The one who thinks she is five will be going home with me tonight. What I need from you lot is someone to take care of Alex Price."

DC Jeff Riley raised his hand. "Guv? I can do that. My sister's had loads of kids, I'm pretty good with them."

"Good. Bring her to work with you tomorrow and we can talk to her a little bit. She probably didn't know anything about Evan, but it doesn't hurt. Now. It's lunchtime. Mush."

CID jumped up excitedly.

"Shaz."

Shaz stopped turning to look at Gene.

"Would you happen to have an extra pair of socks in your locker? Alex came in barefoot..."

Shaz smiled. "Yeah. I've got a clean pair and all. I'll bring them in for her, and maybe even some shoes from lost and found."

"Good. Thank you," Gene said, almost smiling.

As Shaz left the department, Gene grabbed the bear, and walked to the interview room, Riley tagging along behind. As he opened the door, he was amazed by how quiet it was. Both were lost in their own thoughts.

They both looked up as the men entered the room.

"Mr. Tiddles!" Alex squealed, running and grabbing the bear out of Gene's arms, squeezing it hard.

Alex Price frowned. Gene knelt in front of her. "Something wrong love?"

"That bear...I had one just like it. And it was named the same thing. Daddy named it as a joke, and it stuck. I got it when I was about three. It was my favourite toy."

Gene frowned. That was an odd coincidence.

"Who's that?" the girl asked, nodding her head toward Riley.

Alex Drake stopped hugging her bear to look at the new arrival. She frowned, before starting to whisper in the bear's ear.

"That's DC Jeffery Riley. He's going to take you home with him for a while until we find you somewhere more permanent."

"But what about Evan?"

Gene didn't want to have to explain this. But he knew that the girl couldn't grow up not knowing anything about anything. At some point, someone would have to tell her the truth about something. "Evan kept her locked away in the loft of your old house for five months. We had to arrest him. It's false imprisonment."

The girl considered this. "Is that why Alex seems completely mental?" she whispered.

Gene smiled sadly and nodded. "Solitary confinement."

A look of recognition dawned on her face, and she nodded.

DC Riley smiled at her. "I know this is going to be odd tonight, so how about we go out to dinner. You can choose the restaurant."

The girl smiled, and walked out of the room with Riley, discussing restaurants they could go to. Gene turned back to Alex, who was sitting against the wall, staring up at him.

"I don't like that man," she said quietly. "He scares me."

Gene frowned. "Riley's harmless, Alex. Just like yours truly."

Alex just peered at him untrustingly. "My feet are still cold."

"Shaz is bringing up socks."

"I'm hungry too."

"After you get some socks on, I'll take you to dinner. There's a nice Italian restaurant across the street."

Alex grinned. "I like Italian. I like spaghetti and meatballs."

"Well, I'm sure Luigi will be more than happy to cook up some for you."

"Mr. Tiddles likes pizza," Alex said, giggling and shoving the bear in front of him.

"I'm not sure if Luigi makes pizza for bears," Gene replied, inwardly cringing.

Suddenly there was a knock at the door, and Shaz walked into the room, holding a some socks and a pair of trainers. Alex, who had been ready to start pouting, looked excited.

"Are those for me?" she asked excitedly.

Shaz nodded, giving them to the hyperactive Alex. She plopped herself on the floor, and started wrestling the socks on. Shaz looked apologetically at Gene.

"I dunno if I can deal with this," Gene murmured.

"We'll get through this Guv," Shaz muttered back, patting his back. Gene moved away from the contact. "Oh. Sorry Guv. Didn't think."

"Don't let it happen again, Granger," Gene warned.

Alex suddenly looked up. "Granger?"

"That's Shaz's last name, Alex," he explained, sounding more patient than he felt.

"What's your last name?"

"Hunt."

She paused a moment, seeming to consider whether or not to ask the next question.

"Is my last name Drake?"

Gene nodded, and Alex frowned.

"I don't understand. That other girl said I worked with you. And she said my name was Alex Drake and that she knew me."

Gene looked at Shaz desperately. Shaz jumped in, kneeling in front of Alex.

"Alex, when was the last time you saw a mirror?"

"I don't know. I don't remember."

Shaz produced a small mirror from her pocket, handing it to Alex.

Alex stared into it for a moment the frown increasing on her face. "I've seen that face before," she whispered. "But that's not my face." She grinned suddenly. "Good trick. I'm really hungry," she whined.

Gene and Shaz both sighed as Shaz put the mirror back in her pocket.

"Righto, you terror," he said, not unkindly. "Let's get to Luigi's.

**to be continued  
**


	8. It's Not all Fairytales and Ice Cream

**I had some trouble writing this chapter, mainly as I'm getting annoyed by certain characters. Anyway! Chapter 8 y'all!**

**Thanks to 5A7AH for being a brilliant plot buddy!  
**

**Chapter 8: It's Not All Fairytales and Ice Cream**

Gene collapsed on the sofa, breathing a sigh of relief. He had brought Alex up from Luigi's about an hour earlier, and since then she had fought against him. Gene knew she was growing tired in Luigi's, she was getting snappy and surly, and not even her bear could keep her happy.

He wanted to put her straight in bed when they got back, but there was the small matter of the ring of spaghetti sauce around her mouth that she wouldn't let him clean off in the restaurant. After he started to draw a bath for her, he wet a washcloth and tried to wipe her face off. She had screamed for a good five minutes, trying to push him away, but eventually he had won and she got in the bath. He left the room and turned on the television, but couldn't hear it over the sound of her giggling and sloshing water around.

Finally, she had come out in her pyjamas, the bear dangling from her hands, and looked at him expectantly. Gene knew what this meant. Over the past three days, her bedtime routine had been the same. Gene would tuck her in and tell her a story, either until she fell asleep, or until the story was done. She didn't know that he told her stories from her past. By putting it in a fantasy land, and making himself a king, he had been telling Alex her entire life story.

As Gene sat on the couch, drinking a much deserved scotch, he mulled over the story he had told that night.

"_Once upon a time, there was a King. He ruled over the land of Fenchurch. This was a special King. Instead of sitting on his arse...er...backside...all day, he went out and solved the crimes that occurred in the kingdom. The rest of the royal family helped him as well. There were loads of princes, but there was only one princess."_

_Gene had to be amazed at how quiet Alex was as soon as he started telling a story. He wasn't good at it by any means, but she treated each story like it was written by Shakespeare himself. However, every day, as soon as he mentioned the princess, she would interrupt. _

"_Was she pretty?"_

"_Extremely."_

"_What was her name?"_

"_Alex."_

_Alex giggled and then settle back down, eager for the rest of the story. _

"_Well, one day there was this peasant in the kingdom. He had raised a bunch of money to help one of the friends of Fenchurch, down in Africa. But all the money went missing."_

_Alex gasped. _

"_The king searched long and hard for the money. He followed everything that the peasant told him. He searched all over Fenchurch for the man and woman who took the money from the peasant. But no matter what, everything led to a dead end._

"_The princess wanted a result just as much as the king. She persuaded him to send a message to all of Fenchurch. However, since the king didn't speak well, the servants delivering the messages relayed it poorly. This made the king mad. He stayed in his throne room all night, thinking about what they missed. Finally he realised that there were people watching where the peasant said the money was taken from him. So he went to those men, and he took them in. They fought against him, so he asserted his authority to bring them in. They told him that there had been no one there except the peasant. So he brought the peasant in again. _

"_The princess wasn't happy with him bringing in the peasant, especially because the King had to assert his authority once more. She talked to a spy, and made it so the King was dethroned and she was Queen._

"_The King went to his favourite restaurant and waited for them to realise he was right all along. If he was right, then he got to go back and be King again. As he waited, he felt hungry, so he tried the new steak and chips pizza. It wasn't good, and he was left with a bad taste in his mouth that stuck there for a good three days."_

Alex had fallen asleep by that point. Happy that he didn't have to continue the story, Gene left the room.

He watched telly in silence for about an hour until something disturbed him. Alex was making a lot of noise in her room. As Gene approached the room, he heard her start moaning before it turned into a scream of pain.

Gene raced in to find her still asleep, thrashing around in the bed, trying to escape the nightmare that had clutched her. He flipped on her light. She was tangled in her sheets, the bear and her pillows on the floor.

"Alex," he said.

She didn't hear him through her nightmare, moaning once more.

He sat on the edge of the bed and grabbed her shoulders, shaking her gently. "Alex."

Her eyes opened fearfully, before focussing on Gene. She immediately started to sob, clutching Gene as though he was her lifeline.

"I had...a...scary...dream," she said between sobs.

"Do you want to tell me what happened?" Gene asked, feeling ridiculous as he patted her back consolingly.

"There...was...a...man," she said, gradually starting to calm. "I was...tied to a chair. And it hurt. It hurt really bad! He was hurting me, Gene!"

"Where did he hurt?" Gene asked, slightly disturbed.

"Everywhere."

"What did he do?"

"He... he burnt me with a cigarette a lot. And he pulled out my fingernails and my toenails. And this tooth I don't even have," she said, opening her mouth and pointing to an empty space. "And then he started writing words on my chest with a knife."

"What did the words say?" Gene asked, knowing now exactly what she was describing.

"I don't know. But...I think they're the same thing as the marks on my chest," she whispered, looking around frantically before retrieving her bear from the floor.

She had dreamt about the day she had been kidnapped. Did this mean her memory was coming back?

Alex lay back down in bed, sniffling and holding the bear close.

"Can you finish the story, Mr. Gene?"

Gene nodded and settled down to tell her the story, slightly more hopeful than he had been before.

~(*)~

Two days later, Gene stared out at his CID, wondering when something would happen to ruin his day. It was going too well. Alex had been quiet and complacent so far, currently sitting in the corner, looking at a file with her bear. She had told him that she and Mr. Tiddles were going to play policeman today.

Gene didn't mind, as it had kept her quiet. It was a far cry from yesterday when he decided to let her sit in on an interview.

Alex was hyperactive, something Gene had noted, but didn't think would be too much of a problem when they got into the interview room. He had never been so wrong before in his life. She sat quietly for about three minutes. Then she had started playing with the bear she never let go of. About ten minutes in, she started poking him. Gene had ignored her, but eventually the poking had gotten so annoying that he turned to her.

"_What?"_

"_Does that thing record?" she asked, pointing at the tape recorder._

"_Yes. That's what we're doing. Recording the interview."_

_Alex grinned and leaned over him suddenly, grabbing the tape recorder. She ran to the corner, starting to sing Green Door into the machine. Gene walked over to the corner and stood in front of her. _

"_Alex, give me back the machine."_

_She looked up at him. "Not yet! It's time for Mr. Tiddles' solo!"_

_Gene was starting to get annoyed. He had put up with nearly a week of this. He didn't know how much more he could bear. He was sure he could deal with a five year old fine, but this was Alex. He couldn't help but feel like she should know better, even though he knew she couldn't help it._

_Alex held up the bear to the recorder and was silent as she stared at it. _

"_Alex."_

_She glared up at him. "You just ruined his solo! Now we're going to have to do it again!"_

_Suddenly, the man they were interviewing started laughing. "What is this?" he exclaimed. "A crèche?"_

_Gene felt suddenly furious. He rounded on the man._

"_I didn't ask for your opinion, did I?" he roared, delighted to finally have something to take his anger out on. Gene didn't notice Alex start to cower in the corner, nor did he notice when she fled the room. It was only when he stopped ranting, panting for breath did he miss her._

"_Shit. Viv!"_

_Viv appeared at the door. "Take this bastard to the cells."_

"_Yes Guv. And Alex is hiding in the evidence room, just to let you know."_

"_Thanks Viv." _

_Viv just raised his eyebrows knowingly and started to escort the man from the room._

Gene had gone to the evidence room, and after much consoling and many promises of ice cream and biscuits, she had come out with him, her face stained with tears. She had still been sniffling when they walked into Luigi's an hour later. However, her face rapidly turned radiant when Luigi came out, a huge ice cream sundae in his hands.

He silently glared at the Italian, knowing that she'd be a nightmare to get to bed that night. And indeed, she was. It had taken four stories to finally put her to sleep. But today, she was quiet and complacent. And Gene was perfectly happy with that.

Gene's door suddenly burst open. Riley was standing in the doorway. Gene noted Alex look up at the man, absolutely terrified, before trying to shrink into a ball. He wondered what caused her to fear him. The only other person in CID she wouldn't talk to was Boyle. He had treated her terribly the first day she arrived, and she was terrified of him as well.

"What is it, Riley?"

He looked panic stricken. "Alex. She went to the loo, and she hasn't come back. I had Shaz check, she's not in any of them!"

Gene sighed. There went the perfect day. "Right. When did you last see her?"

"About fifteen minutes ago."

"I'll get plod on it."

Gene portrayed a calm exterior, but he felt nervous on the inside. The only thing they could do was wait.

~(*)~

Two hours later, they were still waiting. CID had been dispersed to scour the city, and Gene sat in his office with Alex, who was growing increasingly quieter.

"You okay, Alex?" he asked.

She looked up at him, distracted. "Yeah, I'm fine," she said abstractly, before frowning over the file she was looking at. The bear lay on the ground next to her, forgotten.

Gene frowned. There was something going on with her. "You still playing copper?"

"Yeah."

She said nothing more, continuing to frown at the file.

Gene sighed. There was nothing more he could really do here. Leaving Alex to muse, he went up to the front desk.

"Viv, get me Evan White out of the cells. I'm going to charge him."

Viv frowned at him.

"Evan White was released this morning Guv."

"What? What are you talking about?"

"DI Boyle said to release him. He said that it had been cleared with you."

"When was he released?"

"About an hour ago."

Furious, Gene strode back to his office to give Boyle a good bollocking.

"Boyle!" he bellowed. "What the hell were you thinking? Why did you release White?"

"DC Riley told me that you had told him to have White released," said Boyle, looking disconcerted.

"And you didn't think to check this with me?" Gene roared. "Where is Riley?"

"He went out for a fag right after. Said he needed some fresh air."

"And that was an hour ago. So where is the bastard now?"

Suddenly, Gene's phone rang. He snatched up the receiver, not noticing Alex, who was staring at the bear curiously.

"Hunt," he spat down the line.

"_My name is Jeff Riley. I am twenty-eight years old. If you do not find me in the next sixty minutes, I will be killed."_

Another voice came on the line, the voice he hated.

"_No hints this time Hunt. Use your 'gut instinct.' By the way, you're only on step 5 right now."_

The other end clicked and he slammed the phone down.

Turning, he caught sight of Alex, who was looking pale and confused, holding the bear in her hands.

"I don't understand," she said before collapsing in a dead faint.

**to be continued**


	9. Recovery

**Thank you so much to those that review this story. It means a lot.**

**Chapter 9: Recovery**

Alex slowly came to awareness, miserable. It was just another day in her prison, in the darkness. Not even being surrounded by the things of her youth could console her. She had no idea how long she'd been here, but she missed company terribly.

Suddenly, she realised that she could see light through her eyelids. The light had burnt out before she fell asleep. Had the man replaced it while she was sleeping?

Slowly she opened her eyes. Confusion overwhelmed her as she was met with the sight of the women's locker room. Even more confusing was the fact that the bear from her room was laying next to her. She remembered the bear well. It was the one her father had named 'Mr. Tiddles' as a joke. It was her favourite toy when she was five. She never went anywhere without it, until it had gotten a rip. She had been too afraid to take it anywhere after that, even though her mum repaired it perfectly. Eventually it just sat on the shelf along with other toys, until Evan moved her out of the house. He had never let her take those things, instead giving her all new ones.

Alex stood. Had Gene found her while she was sleeping? She looked down at herself, getting even more confused when she found that she was in her own clothes. She spent quite a while with Josh Burrows almost naked, clad in only her bra and knickers. When she had been moved, the new man had taken even those, and given her her mother's dress to wear. When did she change?

She looked at the scars on her body, frowning when she realised that they looked much older than they had the night before. Unable to help herself, she removed her shirt, staring at the letters that had been carved into her chest. They were paler than they had been.

Leaving the bear behind, Alex put her shirt back on and walked out to CID, confused when she found it completely empty. She went up to Viv's desk. The sergeant was being harassed by a civilian, so she waited until the civilian disappeared before she approached him.

"Viv. Where's Gene?"

Viv looked startled. "You woke up then?" he asked, as if talking to a child. "The Guv went out on a call, Alex. He'll be back in a little bit."

Alex stared at him a moment, wondering if he had gone mental. "Right. Thanks."

Alex walked back to the empty CID. She noted that there was someone new in her desk. "DI Boyle," she muttered to herself. "Best find yourself a new job."

She wandered into Gene's office. Looking up onto the corkboard, she saw a fragment of paper from an article that had been ripped down. She knew this hadn't been there before. Curious, she decided to go through his things to see if she could find what the fragment belonged to. After a few moments of digging, she found an article that had been clipped from the paper.

_Met's First Female DI Brutally Murdered_

_Met Detective Inspector Alex Drake was murdered by the same killer that has struck the city three times previously. No body has been found as of yet, but police are searching..._

Alex set the article down. She wasn't sure that she wanted to read about that. It was bad enough to see the scars without reading about it. Alex flipped to the next article, which was a tribute to her life. Ignoring it she looked around the office until something caught her eye.

An unused radio sat on Gene's desk. Praying that the batteries hadn't gone to shit, she picked it up and depressed the button.

"Gene."

She waited for several moments before he answered, sounding cross.

"_Alex, I'm busy at the moment. Take Mr. Tiddles and play with Viv if you're bored."_

Alex stared at the radio for a moment. "What the hell are you..."

Gene cut her off. _"Alex. Don't use that kind of language!"_

"Since when have you cared what comes out of your mouth?" Alex raged into the radio. She was confused, and Gene was pissing her off.

"_Alex!" _he snapped distractedly. _"I will talk to you when I get back! Not before! If you're bored, go play with Viv!"_

Alex threw the radio across CID. It hit the door of the office before falling to the ground and shattering. How dare he treat her like that?

"Bastard," she muttered.

Deciding to leave at that moment, Alex started to investigate what had changed since she went missing. Besides the new DI, it seemed the only difference to the room was the addition of several crayon drawings. Most of them were on Gene's desk. Alex grinned at the idea of him hanging up a children's drawing before kneeling to investigate.

As she knelt, a mess in the corner of his office caught her eye. Curious, Alex moved over to the mess, studying. A few crayons were scattered over what looked like a photocopy of a file. There were a couple drawings on blank sheets of paper, but mostly it looked like someone had scribbled on the file.

She picked up the first sheet of paper, trying to decipher the scribbles. She figured out the first letter and started to get excited. Finally she was figuring something out.

The first letter was an A, and the second was either a capital I or an L. As Alex stared the words finally appeared.

_Alex Drake._

Something was wrong. And as God as her witness, she was going to make Gene explain. After she gave him a good slap.

~(*)~

Gene and the rest of CID walked back into the station, shoulders sagging. They hadn't found Riley in time, and by the time they figured out the address, the fire brigade had been putting out the inferno that the house had become.

Gene stopped by the desk to talk to Viv.

"How's Alex?"

"She's fine Guv," Viv responded. "She came up here asking where you were and has been in CID ever since."

Gene nodded. "Thanks Viv. I'm glad she didn't give you any trouble."

"No problem Guv."

Gene stalked off to his office lost in his thoughts until a rousing slap shook him back to reality. He looked up, amazed. Alex Drake was standing there, looking extremely confused and pissed off.

"Explain," she demanded.

"Alex?" he said softly, daring to hope.

She gave him a long hard look. "It would be best for you to just explain, Gene. I'm confused and getting angrier by the second. What the hell is going on?"

"Hang on, love. Answer me this. How old are you?"

"Thirty-three," she said, staring at him.

A grin of disbelief and amazement worked its way across his face. "You're back. You're really back?"

She frowned, not understanding. "When did I get to CID? And when did I get into my old clothes?"

Gene walked her into his office, pouring them both a scotch. Alex accepted it silently, waiting for an answer. Before speaking to her however, he phoned for the psychologist to come down. He had to know if everything was going to be alright. Finally, he set the phone down and looked at her. She was staring at him, her face impatient.

"I found you a week ago."

"How long have I been missing?"

"Six months."

Her mouth dropped open. "Surely it hasn't been that long. And I don't remember you finding me."

Gene stared at her, wondering whether or not to tell her all that had gone on during the past week.

"These drawings. Who did these?"

"You did."

"Why would I draw pictures in crayon?"

"We had to keep you occupied somehow."

Alex frowned, staring at the picture.

"What do you remember, Alex?"

"I remember the light in the loft burning out. And going to sleep. And that's it until I woke up here."

Gene smiled softly, a gentle sadness in the curve of his lips. "When I found you, you thought you were five."

She looked shocked. "So I've been walking around for a week, thinking and _acting_ like I was five?"

Gene nodded and her face changed from shock to horror. "Oh God."

"Psychologist said it wasn't unexpected with six months of solitary confinement. Speaking of which, we should probably have him talk to you."

Alex smiled. "Gene Hunt, listening to psychology?"

"Crazy old posh bird got me listening to it."

"Oi. A little less with the old, if you don't mind."

They stared at each other for a moment, their eyes locked. Alex broke the eye contact first, staring back down at her lap. He could tell that she felt embarrassed, finding out the way she had acted for the past week.

"Alex," he said cautiously. "Can you tell me what happened? You're the only one that's come out of this alive."

She stared at him for a moment. "I was terrified. I was late for work that day. I was running about fifteen minutes behind. I don't even remember why now. But an arm wrapped around my throat, and the next thing I know, I was tied up in a chair."

She paused for several minutes, and Gene could see her reliving the torture she had gone through. When she spoke again, her voice was soft and slightly tormented. "Every minute, for that hour, he did something for me. Mostly just burning different parts of my body to see how I reacted. Sometimes though..." she trailed off and shuddered.

"When I you said goodbye to me, he put me in another chokehold. He must have given me a sedative, because I woke up somewhere else. It had windows, so I could tell if it was day or night. Once a day, he'd give me food and document on his findings. We were all just an experiment. Then one day, I was tied, gagged, and blindfolded and taken to my...to the old Price house. While I was still blindfolded, they made me take off my bra and knickers and gave me a dress of Caroline Price's to wear. Then they put me up in the loft. And I sat up there for God only knows how long, until apparently, you found me."

"They didn't hurt you after?"

"No. Burrows just documented my recovery. He'd ask me how much pain I was in, to rate it on a scale. Like I said, all those people he killed were an experiment. He recorded the hour, filmed it. Sometimes from the room he kept me in, I heard the screams of the people he tortured before me. Sometimes it was my screams."

Alex retreated into silence, staring at the pencil cup on his desk. Knowing what she needed, Gene stood, and pulled her up from the chair, wrapping her in an embrace. He could tell that she was trying to hold in tears, but knew she was unsuccessful when his shirt suddenly grew wet.

Gene didn't dare say anything. If he said anything, he'd ruin the moment. He'd probably offend her. Gene had never been good about knowing what to say in these situations. However, Alex didn't seem to mind, silently crying into his chest.

Finally, she pulled away, looking embarrassed. "I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me."

Gene smiled softly. "You've been through the wars, Bolly. It's only natural to come out scarred."

"It must have been awful for you, thinking I was dead."

Gene nodded. "It definitely wasn't the most fun thing to deal with."

Alex suddenly looked guilty and Gene realised that he must have said the wrong thing. _Twat,_ he thought to himself. "It wasn't your fault what we all went through Alex," he said firmly.

She said nothing, merely nodding and continuing to look guilty. A sudden knock at the door heralded the arrival of the psychologist. Gene stepped out into CID, letting the psychologist have a little more privacy. Though today had been a shit day, he was in a fantastic mood. Alex was back.

The phone rang and Shaz answered it, looking up at him. She handed him the phone. "For you, Guv."

"Hunt."

"_You should be thanking me."_

"You killed one of my men."

"_I gave you back Alex. And I got rid of the one who was corrupt."_

"Riley wasn't corrupt!"

The man laughed down the phone. "_Oh he was involved with more than you'll know, Hunt. Or maybe you'll figure it out. Maybe I'll tell you. But not today."_

"Here's an idea. Why don't you just stop playing games and tell me?"

The man laughed again. _"Fine. He released Evan. He forged your name on the sheet, and had Boyle release him. He had Alex Price wait outside the station for Evan. He gave them a car to get away in. Even now, they're on their way to somewhere where they won't be known."_

"I don't believe you."

"_Believe what you want, Hunt. Step six will be happening soon."_

The man hung up the phone as the psychologist stepped out of his office. The psychologist pulled Gene into the kitchen.

"Her memory seems to be back, but I wouldn't have her dealing with too much yet. Any sort of trauma could send her into shock, causing her to revert back to her five year old state, or worse. Best to keep her on desk duty for a month or so."

Gene nodded, looking at the woman sitting in his chair and smiled. "No problem. I have every intent on keeping her safe."

The psychologist nodded his head. "Good. But make sure you keep yourself safe too. Alex calls you her constant. If something happens to you, who knows what will happen to her?"

Leaving him with that chilling thought, the psychologist exited CID.

**to be continued  
**


	10. Paperwork

**Thank you to all who reviewed the last chapter! It means a lot to get those :) And a disclaimer for those of you who follow my tumblr, all the text before the second ~(*)~ was what I wrote that day I was in a good mood. Everything after that, I was not in such a good mood and so was fair game for anything to happen ;)**

**Chapter 10: Paperwork  
**

Alex stared at the pile of paperwork on her desk, completely bored. It had been three weeks since she had recovered her memory, but suddenly Gene had started listening to psychologists and was keeping on desk duty for a full month. Nothing she said to him could persuade him to change his mind.

Not that she hadn't tried. She had been begging him for the past three weeks to let her out on the street, and when that hadn't worked she had tried other tactics. She had tried withholding sex, but forgot that she wanted it as much, if not more, than he did. By the third day of that resolution, she had been snappy with everyone, and kept fantasizing about having him on his desk. She had locked him out for the night, but had missed him so terribly that at one in the morning she phoned him to come back. Alex knew she was stuck until the next week, when the awful month was over, and she was allowed to take over Boyle's place as DI again.

She looked up at the clock. Three more minutes until lunchtime, and then another long day would be over. She looked down at the file she was studying again. There was nothing there that couldn't wait till tomorrow. Sighing, she dropped the pen and closed the file.

"Drake."

Alex looked up to where Gene was standing. He raised his eyebrows and motioned for her to join him in his office. As she shut the door, he turned on her.

"Trying to clear out early?"

Alex smiled. "Yeah. Is that a problem?"

"You might want to check with your superior officer first."

She set her eyes wide and innocent, putting her lips next to his ear and whispered. "May I _please _leave a few minutes early?"

He pushed her back away from him and smirked. "No, Bolly. I think I'm going to keep you here all night." Holding his hand up so she didn't go anywhere, Gene leaned opened the door of his office and leaned out.

"Lunchtime! Save a seat for Bolly and me. We've gotta finish some paperwork here, and then we'll be over."

"What paperwork, Guv?" asked Ray. "You've been shoving it all off on Drake."

"Yes, but I have to sign it all, don't I, Raymondo?"

Ray looked confused for a moment, but then nodded and left.

He turned around to see Alex glaring at him. "More paperwork?" she asked icily.

He grinned at her, quickly checking the office to make sure it was empty before crashing his lips down on her.

After they stopped, panting for breath, Gene grinned sheepishly. "Been waiting to do that all day."

"Do you think we should tell them?" Alex asked. Their relationship was still very much a secret to all of CID. Not that there hadn't been gossip going around. But Alex had squashed most of that as soon as she heard it.

Gene looked at her. "What do you think?"

"They'll find out sooner or later. Wouldn't you rather just tell them instead of them asking everyone else in the office and not getting any work done?"

Gene nodded. "You're right, Bolls. Lets tell them tonight."

Alex grabbed his hand. "Why don't we go to Luigi's then?"

"I told them half an hour, Bolly. Now close the blinds, keep quiet, and try not to muss up my hair too much."

~(*)~

It was another forty-five minutes before they wandered into Luigi's, looking none the worse for wear after carefully flattening hair and straightening clothes in their respective toilets. They headed straight for their table, both nervous about what they were about to do.

Luigi sauntered over. "Signorina Drake, so lovely to see you tonight. What can I get for you?"

"Veal Scaloppini, I think."

"And for you, Signore Hunt?"

Gene glared at him. "Anything besides your steak and chips pizza. And a bottle of house rubbish."

He nodded, backing away from the table to prepare their food.

Gene took a deep breath in. "Ready, Bolly?"

She nodded, swallowing, and Gene stood up.

"Right," he said loudly. CID instantly quieted down. "To stop the gossip that you all are inevitably wasting your lives on, DI Drake and I... Alex and I... are together. We were before she disappeared, and after she regained her memory, we decided to try it again."

Gene sat down, exhaling loudly. CID sat in stunned silence for a moment, before Ray broke it by jumping up.

"You owe me a fiver!" he yelled at Chris.

Chris sighed and got out his wallet. As Gene and Alex watched, several other CID members got out their wallets to pay Ray or someone else in the group.

Alex started laughing. Gene looked puzzled. "What's so funny Bolly?"

"I knew this would happen!"

"What, that they'd all bet each other on when we'd finally get together?"

She nodded. "Don't tell me it surprises you."

Gene shrugged. "Course not. CID gossips like old ladies."

Alex nodded.

Suddenly, a beaming Luigi appeared, holding a bottle of Bollinger. A waiter stood behind him with two plates of steaming food. Luigi moved aside, starting to pour champagne into a glass.

"What the hell Luigi? We didn't order that."

"I complimenti della casa," he said, his smile as wide as the Cheshire Cat.

"What?" Gene asked, as the waiter set the food in front of him.

"The champagne's on the house," Alex explained softly as Luigi walked away.

Gene frowned for a moment before perking up. "Least he gave us a decent champagne."

Clinking his glass against hers, he drank and started on his supper.

~(*)~

The next day, Gene sat at his desk, staring at Alex. She was staring at a file, the little crease in her forehead growing deeper. Ever since she had recovered her memory, he had kept to the psychologist's orders and kept her on desk duty. He knew she had rapidly grown frustrated by this, and had made sure to let him know. There had been three long days where she wouldn't let him touch her. Or worse, she'd start to get him excited, and then cut everything off, saying she was too tired. Just as he had been about to give in, she did, enabling him to keep her on desk duty. There had been another day when she had made him go back to his flat, but she had stopped that too. All in all, it had been fairly easy. And as much as he had suffered those few days that she had tried to torture him, he was happy that she had done it. It proved to him that Alex was back.

He had been nervous for a little while, especially since she did not let him get rid of the bear. But she had stuffed it in the wardrobe and had not bothered or even mentioned it since. Eventually, Gene was going to get rid of it. He was determined to do that. She couldn't remember anything from that time period when she thought she was five anyway. However, Gene knew it would have to be a ways in the future, after this ordeal had been almost forgotten about, a minor blip in their relationship.

Alex sighed and turned a page, unaware that gene was watching her. Maybe he should let her join them on their next call out. She needed to get her detective juices flowing again, needed to use her psychology again. He didn't want it rusty when she finally did come back.

The best part was that he didn't need to clear her return to full duty with the super. The super had told him that it was his own judgement on Alex.

"You know her better than I do," he had said. "You know the warning signs."

Since then, the super had been utterly unconcerned with the goings on of CID. Gene leaned back in his chair, considering. It had been over three weeks. Surely a few days here or there wouldn't hurt.

Suddenly, Gene's phone rang. "Hunt," he said flatly.

"_Guv,"_ said Viv's voice. _"Dead body on Throgmorton Avenue."_

"Right. Thanks, Skip." Gene hung up the phone and stood, pulling on his coat and opening the door to his office. "Raymondo , Bolly, Wonder Chris, with me."

Chris and Ray jumped up immediately. Gene paused by the door to see Alex and Boyle, both wearing expressions of amazement.

"But...I'm..."

"She's on desk duty!" Boyle whinged, cutting her off.

"Shut up Boyle. Bolly, you're coming. Unless, of course, you don't want to."

Her eyes widened, and she jumped up, looking delighted. "Of course I want to," she said as they walked down the corridor together.

He drove quickly down the street, and Chris and Ray lit up in the back. Alex sighed as she rolled the window down.

"Wind the window up!"

"I'm not getting killed by your cancerous habits," she shot back at Ray.

"It's not going to happen today, is it? It's bloody freezing. Can't you wait till summer to open it?"

"Every single time you light up, you are slowly killing yourself. Doesn't that even matter to you?"

"Not currently."

"Shut it, children," Gene said, acting annoyed, but secretly smiling inside. He had missed this.

"Aw, but Guv! Make her wind up the window! I'm freezing my knackers off!"

Gene slowed to a stop and turned around smiling. "Never had any anyway, Raymondo. Now, come on, let's have a look at that dead body. And Bolly, please do wind up the window. I don't want some scrote getting into the Quattro."

Alex rolled her eyes and started to wind up the window. "One day you are all going to have lung cancer..."

"And we'll cross that bridge when we come to it," Gene said firmly.

Alex looked at him a moment, but she understood that he had just ended the conversation and to continue would only serve to piss him off.

"Right," she said. "Where's the body?"

Gene looked at her like she had just asked something idiotic. And indeed, she had. The body lay about ten feet away, with several plod standing around looking bored.

"Go away," Gene commanded rudely.

The plod scattered, all too aware of the Guv's fierce temper.

"Ray, Chris, go talk to some of the people around here. Ask them if they know anything about it. When Bolly has solved the case with her brilliant psychiatry..."

"Psychology," Alex corrected automatically.

"Right. When Drakey has solved the case with her wonderful psychiatry, I'll call you back."

He turned to see Alex staring at him with an eyebrow raised, looking amused and in disbelief at the same time.

"What?"

"Nothing," she said briskly. "Shall we?"

"Thought you'd never ask."

They uncovered the body, staring down at it. Gene could almost hear the wheels turning in her head.

"One shot to the face," she muttered. "It was personal."

"What tells you that?"

"The face is really what makes a human being recognisable. If you take away the face, you take the identity away as well. Someone has to be really pissed off at someone else to aim for the face."

"What if it was an accident?"

She smiled. "It's not. Look at the wound. That's a contact range gunshot wound with blowback."

"What?"

"If the person is shot with the gun touching their head, the large amount of gas and explosive energy sent into the wound causes severe tearing of the skin and muscles, giving the wound a gaping, jagged appearance, like we see here."

She knew he was going to ask what the hell she meant. _Three,_ she thought. _Two. One._

"What the hell are you doing?" Gene yelled suddenly, his voice sounding strained and hoarse.

There was a grunting of another man and Alex turned, confused, to see someone dragging Gene's unconscious form away, his arm around Gene's neck in the sleeper hold. She stared in shock for a moment, until the man opened a car door. She started running towards the car, reaching it in time for Gene's attacker to slam the door, Gene safely stowed away. She grabbed the handle, not thinking about how she was going to get Gene out, only that she wasn't going to let him get taken.

The attacker rounded on her.

"No, Alex. You get to find him. Maybe you'll be luckier than he was with you."

With that, Josh Burrows punched her in the jaw, sending her reeling backwards, falling into blissful unconsciousness.

**to be continued  
**


	11. Save Him

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter :) And to everyone who still reads these. Only one chap after this!  
**

**Chapter 11: Save Him**

He didn't know where he was. There was nothing here. He wasn't even sure that he was here. He couldn't feel his body at all; it seemed as though he was floating. He didn't quite mind the feeling, but he really wanted to know where he was.

He heard sounds around him, but none of them made sense. They were too far away for him to determine what they were. He became aware of an ache in his head and was immensely relieved. He was alive, at least.

Slowly, feeling started to come back to his body. He realised he was tied up, sitting in a chair. His neck ached from his head being bent in the same position for too long. Gene desperately tried to figure out what had happened and where he was.

He remembered Bolly talking nonsense again, being immensely confused, and being about to ask her what she was talking about. Then an arm had wrapped around his throat and squeezed. Although he struggled, the attacker was strong, and kept his hold.

That was the last thing he remembered. Now he was faced with a dilemma. Should he open his eyes, or should he pretend to stay asleep?

Curiosity overwhelming him, Gene slowly opened his eyes. He was startled to see that someone had stripped him, and now he was clad only in his pants. He raised his head to see his clothes in a pile in the corner.

Gene raised his head, trying to figure out where the bastard had gone who had done this. He started to look around, getting increasingly frustrated with the fact that he couldn't turn fully because he was tied up.

"You're awake!" a voice he recognised said cheerily. Gene heard footsteps coming up from behind him and struggled to see who his captor was.

"No need to fight the rope," the man said laughingly. "You'll see me in a minute, Guv."

Suddenly the voice clicked in his head.

"Riley," Gene spat. "DC Jeff Riley."

The detective constable appeared in front of him, a wide grin on his face.

"You're supposed to be dead."

He just laughed. "Yes, I am, aren't I? Don't worry about that though, Guv. I'd be more worried about myself if I were in your position. Because, quite honestly, in a little over an hour you'll be dead."

~(*)~

"_Alex! Wake up Alex!"_

Someone was tapping her lightly on the face. Alex struggled to open her eyes, slowly becoming aware of a persistent pounding in her jaw.

"_Boss! Er...Ma'am! Wake up!"_

"_Chris, you twonk."_

The voices continued, slowly growing closer to her. Alex recognised them, but could not place them.

"C'mon Alex!"

A few more taps and she opened her eyes, blinking furiously against the sun and trying to dispel the blurriness. One man was holding her head off the ground and another was standing over her, both wearing looks of concern. She knew those men. Slowly, she waited for her brain to make the connection.

_Ray. Chris, _she thought. Good. Her brain was making connections.

"Where's the Guv, Alex?" Ray asked.

Alex thought hard for a moment before the thought snaked its way into her head.

"Guv," she said, thinking hard. "A man. _The_ man. Josh Burrows."

Ray nearly dropped her head onto the ground. "Shit. Burrows got him?"

Alex nodded, still thinking. "They got into a blue Escort." She was distracted for a moment by a memory of a blue Escort exploding. For a horrible moment she thought that was what had happened to Gene, but then remembered that it had happened at an earlier time.

"Do you have any idea where they went?" Ray asked worriedly.

Alex shook her head, her jaw still throbbing.

Ray helped her to her feet before looking at Chris. "We've got to get back to the station. And the Guv had the keys to the Quattro on him."

Alex groaned inwardly. She knew what this meant. They had to walk all the way back to the station, or find a bus. Neither option was appealing.

"Well," she said, ignoring the throb of her jaw. "Let's start walking."

~(*)~

They had sat in silence for a while. Gene wasn't entirely sure what Riley was waiting for, in fact, the waiting was making everything worse.

"Riley," he finally called out, annoyed.

"I think you'll find, Guv, that my name is Burrows," he said, coming around the corner.

"Why join the police?" Gene asked. He was genuinely curious.

"Remember, all those months ago, I told you that I wanted to be caught? Back when Alex was in the same position as you, remember?"

"Yes. But you gave me the wrong clues! You made it so I couldn't find her!" Gene raged.

Burrows grinned. "That's because I realised, I didn't want to be caught just yet. I suppose Alex has told you everything? Yes, I know she has her memory back. I always knew it would come back. I knew it right from the moment she first cowered at me in CID. I heard you tell Chris and Ray she was having nightmares about her time with me. It was only a matter of time before she pointed me out. So I faked my own death. But first, I reunited Alex Price and Evan White."

"Why would you even give a shit?" Gene spat.

Burrows looked at him a moment before responding. "I'm not a monster, Guv," he said softly. "The girl is already an orphan, why take away the only person she has in this world? She cried every night she stayed with me. She longed for Evan, so I let him out. I had her disappear a little before so it wouldn't look like he kidnapped her."

"You still haven't answered my question," Gene said, covering his fury. "Why did you join CID?"

"Because it was the easiest way not to get caught," Burrows said laughingly. "I realised all those months ago, when Alex was here, that I wanted to see how people healed. I wanted to see how much it hurt the day after, a week after. So I kept her. In this house, actually. On the room to your right, I remember she would sit right next to the door and try and get out. IF I played the footage I had, the first few dyas, she begged me to stop. I suppose it was painful listening to herself go through it, the others..." Burrows trailed off thoughtfully before putting a tape in the VCR. He turned on the telly and left Gene to stare at it.

Gene watched it in horror. Alex was on the screen, in much the same position he was. It was evident that she was a ways into the torture, as bright red burn marks were all over her body. One of her fingers and one of her toes were bleeding, and though she looked calm, there was a panic in her eyes.

He saw her flinch as Burrows advanced towards her with pliers. She was trying to move away, but couldn't. Gene saw the idea dawn on what Burrows was going to do as he put something in her mouth.

Gene looked away. He couldn't watch this. He flinched as he heard her scream loudly.

Suddenly, he heard his voice. Gene looked up at the telly. Alex seemed to be momentarily unconscious, her head hanging down and blood dripping out of her mouth.

"_Bolly! BOLLY! Where are you? Bolly! Bolly! Come on, talk to me!"_

He saw her head start lifting up as she came back to consciousness. She opened her eyes, and Gene saw her look around hopefully before a look of disappointment came on to her face.

"You pushed the button on the radio," Burrows said before speaking into it for himself. "Thirty one minutes, Hunt."

Gene remembered how horrified he had been in that moment. To hear the raw agony in her screams had torn him apart, and he had been left in stillness for a moment, wondering what the man had done to her.

"What did that feel like, Alex?" Burrows asked. Gene was delighted to see her spit in his face.

Suddenly the telly turned off. "I think that's enough," Burrows said dryly.

"You angry about that Burrows? Angry that she got one over on you?"

"May I remind you, Guv, who ended up winning that battle? I did. I kept Alex from you for six months. I made you think that she was dead. Actually, you still would, if I hadn't have shown you where she was."

"So how come White had her?"

"He figured me out. I don't know how, but he came here. He told me that I either hand her over, or he'd turn me in. So I handed her over that night. He told me he killed her. I finally persuaded him to tell me where he buried her. I dug up the grave, because I didn't quite believe him. As soon as I saw that the body had all the teeth, I knew she was alive. I held on to this knowledge though, until I was ready to use it."

"So you watched us, and when we talked about her, you just laughed at us."

"No, Guv. I waited, and listened. When she stopped getting mentioned in conversations, when her favourite mug was being used by CID again, I knew finding her would be the last thing on your minds. So one morning, I rung you. I knew you got to the office early every day. Boyle would always complain about it. When you came in later...you should have seen your face," Burrows grinned. "Every time I phoned you, I'd come back in and laugh. I'd just go downstairs to ring you. It was all so easy."

Burrows laughed. Gene infuriated, struggled against the rope tying him down to no avail.

"Bastard," he spat.

Burrows stared at him for a long moment. "I think it's time to end your life. I'll grab the phone. Enjoy yourself, Guv. You've only got sixty-four minutes to live."

~(*)~

They had been waiting anxiously for over an hour. Ray had been watching Alex for that long, convinced that something was going on with her. She had been staring at her phone for an hour, not moving, hardly blinking. There was an underlying panic in her eyes.

"Alex," he said cautiously. She acted as though she didn't hear him.

Ray wondered if there really was something wrong. There had been that moment earlier when she didn't recognise either him or Chris. At first, he thought it had been because she was still coming round from being knocked out. But now, he was remembering what the Guv had said.

"_The psychologist said a month or more. The only reason I would let her on a case sooner is because I'd want her insight. Alex can't go through too much trauma at all, either emotional or physical. We've got to protect her Ray. If I'm not here, you do."_

Ray had nodded then, surprised at the way the Guv was treating the whole ordeal. He looked back at Alex. Surely this was a load of trauma, seeing the man she loved faced with almost certain death.

As Ray reached for the phone to ring the psychologist, Alex's phone rang.

The whole room stopped, staring at the phone on her desk. Alex almost sprang out of her seat to answer it.

"Drake," she said.

Ray stood next to her, trying to hear what the person on the opposite end was saying. To his horror, but not amazement, he heard the Guv's voice.

"_If you do not find me in an hour, he will kill me."_

A new voice came on the phone.

"_It's all down to you, Alex. He's being held at the same place you were, for that month before you were moved. I know you saw the street sign. Find me, Alex. Step six is me taking him. Step seven can be one of two things. Either finding me, or finding Gene. He's your last hope. After this, I disappear."_

The line went silent and Alex stared across the room for a full minute before Ray tried to tug the phone out of her hand. Finally she came to, looking around the room and staring at Ray.

"Ray," she whispered brokenly. "If we don't find him, it's my fault."

"We'll jog your memory, Alex. We'll find him," he assured her.

She nodded at him, but he couldn't help but notice the faraway look in her eyes.

Half an hour later, after many distressing messages from Gene, Alex's eyes suddenly lit up.

"Abbey Road!" she exclaimed suddenly.

"_Bolly," _said Gene's voice over the radio. Even the word he spoke was slurred.

"Gene," she whispered back.

"_Have you thought of it yet, Alex?" _Burrows' voice said over the radio. "_Thirty minutes."_

There was nothing more from them and Alex looked at Ray. "Abbey Road is twenty minutes away. I know the house. We need a fast car."

They ended up taking the fastest pool car they could, radioing ahead for ambulance and racing down the streets of London, sirens wailing. Alex said nothing the entire way. She was too focused on what she was doing to offer anything to say.

"_Ten minutes," _said the Guv's voice as Ray suddenly hit a massive traffic jam.

Alex suddenly stirred. "Faster Ray!" she yelled.

"I can't go anywhere Alex! I'm stuck!"

"Oh for Christ's sake," she griped, jumping out of the car.

"Alex! No!" Ray got out after her and Chris followed, abandoning the car altogether as they ran toward Abbey Road.

Ray saw one of Alex's heels break, but she continued to run like nothing had happened.

"_One minute," _Gene's voice said as they reached Abbey Road.

Alex went to the second house and started to slam on the door with her shoulder. She looked absolutely frenzied now. Ray pushed her aside and placed a well aimed kick below the handle, opening the door. She rushed past him, nearly knocking him off his feet. Ray caught his balance and followed her in, running to where the Guv was held, stopping dead as he heard Alex's shriek of rage and loss.

The Guv sat motionless, tied to a chair, a knife sticking out of his chest. They had been too late.

**to be continued**


	12. Sixty Minutes

**First off, a funny story. My favourite author is John Saul. (he's bloody amazing) Aaaanyway. I was reading a book by him, called Nightshade, about a week after I had finished writing this. Never read the book before in my life. Aaaand, one of the people starts to believe she's five, and the first half of the epilogue takes place in the same setting as this last chapter. I had to stop reading it to laugh in amazement. No wonder I consider him the God of writing.**

**Aaanyway, Thank you to everyone who has encouraged this story along, and favourited it along the way. To those that reviewed, thank you so much. And to those who support me on the site that cannot be named :P thank you loads. You made my night the other night. **

**Although I know she won't read this, thanks to 5A7AH for being the person I bounce ideas off of and telling me honestly if they're crap or not. **

**And I've got some ideas swirling for a new fic. I dunno when that will be coming out though.**

**And now:  
**

**Chapter 12: Sixty Minutes**

Amy Barrett looked at her watch. She had already been here two hours. Amy always hated first days on the job. She always felt underproductive and a bit thick. Today, the first two hours had been spent telling her about what to expect when she worked there. Now she was just waiting for someone to take her on a tour of the floor and then she could finally start interacting with the patients. There was one woman she had caught a glimpse of as soon as she got on the unit. She was dying to know who that woman was, and was getting more and more impatient thinking about it.

After another ten minutes, the door opened and a harassed looking nurse walked in. "Sorry. We had a bit of a situation."

Amy just smiled. "That's alright."

"Right," said the nurse briskly. "My name is Ruth. Glad to have you here. Shall we start the tour?"

Amy nodded. Rachel showed her around the ward, introducing her to every single patient, except the one she wanted to know. Finally, at the very end of the tour, Ruth's voice dropped.

"There is one more person," Ruth said quietly, leading her over to a rocking chair where a woman sat, staring blankly out the window. Her hair was limp and scraggly, and deep hollows had formed in her cheeks. The woman's face was extremely pale, and she seemed so far away that Amy had to wonder if she even knew where she was. This was the woman who caught Amy's attention as soon as she walked in.

"This is Alex Drake," said Ruth. "She's total cares. You have to feed her, bathe her, dress her, and so forth. She can walk on her own, but she won't get up unless you help her." Ruth turned to the woman.

"Alex, can you stand up for me?" she asked kindly.

The woman didn't even blink. Unfazed by her lack of reaction, Ruth grabbed both of Alex's hands and pulled. Alex stood, the blanket tumbling to the floor. Even though Ruth was now standing in front of her, Alex's eyes did not move, giving her the appearance of looking straight through Ruth. Ruth continued to hold on to one of Alex's hands, leading her around the room in a circle. Alex followed meekly, never saying anything, never moving her eyes. "When you dress her, you're going to always have to put her in a button up blouse. She won't help you dress her at all. Her friends prefer it if she's at least in a nice blouse, but she can stay in jogging bottoms."

Ruth sat her back down in the chair, putting the blanket on the woman and folding her hands on her lap.

"We don't know if she even hears or sees us," Ruth said, leading Amy away from Alex. "We just act as though she does. She doesn't acknowledge anyone's presence, even her friends that come in."

"Catatonia?"

Ruth nodded. "The doctor thinks it's self-induced. He thinks she receded within herself to deal with pain. And then, once she was there, she forgot how to get back out. He doesn't think she even knows what her name is anymore."

They both stared at Alex for a moment before Ruth turned, continuing on the tour of the unit. "This is the nurse's station..."

Amy tuned her out, thinking about the woman, wondering what could have been so horrible that she had become like this.

~(*)~

Gene waited impatiently at the door of the unit, waiting for the staff to let him in. Not for the first time, he wondered why they had put her in a locked unit. It wasn't like she was just going to get up and go anywhere.

Adding to his impatience was the bear in his hands. It was his last ditch effort. For the past year, he had been visiting her almost every day, sometimes bringing trinkets with him, hoping to snap her out of what the doctors had termed 'catatonia.' Nothing had worked.

And then, today, he had been raiding his wardrobe, looking desperately for a suit when he had found the bear. He had promised himself that he would get rid of it. But now he couldn't. He had to give it to her. He had to see if that would fix her.

Finally, a nurse made her way to the doors. Gene sighed to himself. She was new. Great.

The woman looked at him disdainfully. "Visiting hours are over."

Gene just sighed. "Is Ruth there?"

The woman hesitated, and then nodded.

"Talk to her."

Less than a minute later, Ruth unlocked the door for him.

"Thanks Ruth," he said.

"No problem Mr. Hunt. I'll talk to her in a moment."

He nodded stiffly. "What's for dinner tonight?"

"Shepherd's pie."

"She likes that. I'll set my things down."

"You know where she is."

Gene nodded and walked down the corridor to her room, setting his things on her bed before going to the room where she sat.

He sat down in front of her. As usual, she stared straight through him. He hung his head, thinking.

Every day, seeing her like this reminded him of the trauma that he had undergone nearly a year ago. Of course, it wasn't only trauma for him. The fear of losing him is what had sent her over the edge. The guilt for causing this weighed on him every day.

He had thought he was a goner as the final letter was carved into his chest. Then she had come crashing through the door. Burrows had stabbed him as soon as the door fell to the floor. But in his rush, he had aimed far too high. The knife had punctured a lung, but had not even gotten close to the aorta. He remembered Alex shrieking in rage and then it had all gone black.

When he had woken up in hospital, he had asked for Alex. Surely she should be by his side, just like he'd be for her if she ended up in hospital. He noted how the doctors skirted his questions about her.

Finally, Ray had come in, and told him what had happened. She had been sectioned.

"_She went mad as soon as he stabbed you, Guv. After he had dropped the knife, she jumped on him, knocking him down to the ground. She cuffed him, and that's when it went bad._

"_Alex turned him over and pulled the knife out of your chest. You coughed, but she didn't even notice. She sat on his stomach and raised the knife above him. Alex was going to stab him, Guv. She kept ranting on about how he had to pay for what he'd done, how she needed revenge. Chris tried to stop her, but she slashed him. She didn't even recognise us by that point. _

"_Anyway, Chris backed away, his face all bloody cause that's where she got him. An ambulance crew was coming down the stairs to tend to you. I snuck up behind her and grabbed her, pinning her arms at her waist. She struggled for about ten seconds and then went limp. _

"_She said nothing back to the station. We had to take the scrote back, because Chris had to go to hospital too because of his face. Whenever I said anything to her, she didn't even look at me. She just stared straight ahead. As soon as we got to CID, I got the psychologist. He's the one who sectioned her."_

She hadn't changed from that day. She didn't move, she didn't talk, she hardly blinked. She just stared into oblivion. And every day, he visited her, hoping for her to get better.

"Hey Bolls," he said softly, taking her hand. It was still warm and soft, and if he closed his eyes, he could almost imagine her sitting across from him, her hair and makeup done, smiling softly at him. However, when he opened his eyes, reality hit him.

She was extremely pale, and her hair was limp. Her face was devoid of any expression whatsoever, and her eyes were two hazel pits. It always made him shudder to look into them. She had slowly been growing skinnier, and now it was becoming more evident by the hollows in her cheeks.

"They have shepherd's pie tonight," he said. "I know we ate a lot of Italian, but you said once that it was one of your favourites. You ready to go to dinner?"

She said nothing, staring through him as though he didn't exist. Gene stood, pulling her arms to have her stand up. She stood, the blanket that was over her lap falling to the floor. Gene bent down and folded it up, hanging it over the back of her chair.

He grabbed her hand and started leading her to the canteen, remembering the first day he had done this. He had been convinced that all it would take to snap her out of this state would be his face.

"Gene!" said Barry, the cook. "How are you?"

"Not bad, Barry," he responded automatically. "How are you?"

"Doing well. How's Alex?" he asked, making it clear he was asking Alex herself. She said nothing, not even turning her head to acknowledge that he had spoken. "Two shepherd's pies?" Barry asked after an awkward silence.

"Just one tonight. I'm not hungry," Gene said.

Barry nodded and handed Gene a plate. Gene took it and headed over to the table that they always sat at. It was a reminder of the table that was considered 'theirs' in Luigi's.

He sat Alex down on the chair and sat down next to her. He took a small bit from the pie on the fork and pressed it gently against her lips. She opened her mouth and accepted the bite, eating it slowly.

Gene continued feeding her in this way until she stopped eating it. Usually, she would stop when the food was stone cold. Gene felt the top of the pie, and sure enough, it was. Sighing, he scraped the plate and put it to be washed. He pulled Alex up, looking at the clock. It was half seven. He smiled sadly. He could have a few more hours with her yet.

Gene led her back to her chair, facing it away from the window so he could talk to her. He sat her down in it and put the blanket back over her legs, folding her arms into her lap.

"I brought something for you today, Bolly," he said gently. She gave no notice that she had heard, and he got up, going to her room and grabbing the bear. He sat back down across from her, holding it in front of her.

"It's Mr. Tiddles," he explained, unsure of what she knew and what she didn't. "When I found you, you loved this bear. You thought you were five, mind, but you loved it. I would order pizza for it in Luigi's because you thought it could eat. When it didn't eat anything, you made me take the pizza home. I'd throw it out and tell you the next day that Mr. Tiddles had eaten it."

He smiled, remembering, and tucked it in between her arms so that she was holding it.

"You nearly killed me because I took you away from the Price house without it. I was going to get rid of it, once we were sure you were better. After a year or so, I thought. It's been a year Bolls, but I'm not getting rid of it. I'm going to put this in your room and see if it helps you at all."

He sat, struggling to get the next few words out.

"We miss you. I miss you. Chris and Shaz don't care that you slashed him across the cheek. They understand, Bolly. They just want you back...I just want you back."

He looked at her hopefully, but she continued to stare right through him, as though he hadn't spoken at all.

Clenching his jaw, he steeled himself against the horror that sat in front of him. Beautiful, ballsy Alex Drake had turned into this. He had considered more than once not coming back. It was taking a toll on him. But he always talked himself out of it. What if Alex came back after he had stopped coming? He wanted to be there to witness it.

So he kept coming, living on hope. He knew the nurses whispered that she would never get better, but he had to believe, somehow, she would. She'd come back to him. He was sure of it.

He looked at the clock again. It was almost nine. They stretched the visiting hours for him, but even that had a limit. He was asked to leave at 9.15 every single night. At first, he had fought, but now he just accepted it.

"C'mon Alex," he said, grabbing her hands and pulling her up. He fixed the blanket and pulled her back to her room.

He changed her into pyjamas in silence. Every day when he changed her, he saw the scars that had faded to white across her chest. It always reminded him of the matching letters across his own chest. The only difference between their scars was that Gene had one more, the one that was supposed to end his life. Shaking his head to rid himself of the memories, he lay her down on the bed and tucked her in, putting the bear next to her.

"You want to hear a story, Alex?" he asked.

She stared up at the ceiling.

"Here's a good one. '_Once upon a time, there was a King. He ruled over the land of Fenchurch. This was a special King. Instead of sitting on his arse all day, he went out and solved the crimes that occurred in the kingdom. The rest of the royal family helped him as well. There were loads of princes, but there was only one princess.'"_

Gene stopped, wishing, waiting for her to interject into the story her questions about the princess. She said nothing. Gene took a deep breath and continued.

"_The princess's name was Alex, and she was extremely pretty..."_

~(*)~

Ruth paused by the door of Alex's room, prepared to ask Gene to leave. He had gotten better about it over the months, and there was rarely a day when she had to ask him anymore. However, when she got there, she heard his voice speaking. He never spoke to her after putting her to bed. Usually he'd just whisper a goodbye and leave. Ruth decided to wait by the door and listen.

Alex lay in her normal position, staring at the ceiling, a bear beside her. Gene was sitting on a chair, talking.

"And every day, even though the princess doesn't remember him, the king still visits her. Because he knows she'll get better one day. One day, he'll get to take her for Dover Sole."

Gene ended, tucking Alex in again and brushing a kiss on her forehead before noticing Ruth and looking at his watch. He smiled guiltily when he realised the time. "Sorry. I'm just on my way out."

Ruth said nothing. A lump had formed in her throat from his tenderness toward Alex. He was never going to give up hope. And though it was false hope, it was beautiful to see. She wondered how many more years he would do this before he gave up, but something inside her answered the question. He would do it forever.

~(*)~

As Gene walked out of the hospital, he lit a cigarette. Staring, he remembered what Burrows had once said to him.

"_So much can happen in sixty minutes. It's the difference between life and death, winning everything and losing everything."_

And Gene realised that this was true. He had lost everything that was Alex in just an hour, and now, even though he hoped, it was rapidly becoming apparent that she was not going to come back. He stared into the sky for a moment, almost wishing she was dead. That she had not survived Burrows' attack. At least then, she'd be at peace, not in this horrible state, needing someone to even help her get dressed.

He dropped the cigarette on the ground, staring into the clouds that dripped their tears down on him, mourning with him. He didn't want to come back. But he knew he would.

After all, a lot could happen in sixty minutes.

**Rant**


End file.
